OlBuzzard Posted June 1, 2021 Share Posted June 1, 2021 Heck yes! More cut scenes with companions, especially the romantic ones! We also need a way to establish new romantic relationships with old companions (such as Theron) to fix what the bugs broke. Also please release... Commemorative Statue decorations of the rest of the companions. Decorations with portraits of our companions and major NPCs. Additional customizations, especially for companions who have few (or none). Agreed !!! [/two thumbs up] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldVengeance Posted July 10, 2021 Author Share Posted July 10, 2021 (edited) I did want to mention that the recent updates gave me a little bit of hope for seeing more of our companions, especially after both Zenith and Akaavi have become characters that every PC knows about now. Plus the fact that Lana said that the individuals can be sent "alone or in small groups" means it should be possible for even potentially dead or rejected companions to be included too. Perhaps we can choose who to send on missions in some cases. So maybe we will have the chance to see a Jedi team up of Kira and Nadia, or maybe finally be able to see a long awaited reunion of Vette and Risha on screen after all. Akaavi is the first unambiguously romancable companion to be included in these missions, so I guess first we'll see if Smugglers who romanced her get any good content for that when there is another story update. Edited July 10, 2021 by OldVengeance Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OlBuzzard Posted July 10, 2021 Share Posted July 10, 2021 I did want to mention that the recent updates gave me a little bit of hope for seeing more of our companions, especially after both Zenith and Akaavi have become characters that every PC knows about now. Plus the fact that Lana said that the individuals can be sent "alone or in small groups" means it should be possible for even potentially dead or rejected companions to be included too. Perhaps we can choose who to send on missions in some cases. So maybe we will have the chance to see a Jedi team up of Kira and Nadia, or maybe finally be able to see a long awaited reunion of Vette and Risha on screen after all. Akaavi is the first unambiguously romancable companion to be included in these missions, so I guess first we'll see if Smugglers who romanced her get any good content for that when there is another story update. I'm coming to the conclusion that our "interactive" companions are now a thing of the past. Numerous players have asked for less bugs in the game and more interactions with our companions ( some interactions should and could EASILY be repeatable) ... Instead what we got was a bug eating companion with ZERO interactions. As for Risha ... in ALL of my stories we went our separate ways. I do have one smuggler who really LIKES Kira (modification 4) and (with level 50) takes her everywhere he goes. (Don't laugh ... I seem to recall another smuggler with someone else who was strong with the force) . (but that's another story for another thread .. another time ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OriusPrime Posted July 10, 2021 Share Posted July 10, 2021 It would be kinda a waste if this is the end for all "interactive" companion "interactions." To think that each of us have come so far in our own class story journeys alongside our companions - Havoc Squad, Vette the Sith slave, Jaesa the corrupted Jedi - and their journeys would all end with a whimper. That would be a shame. But the thing is, I'm just not really convinced that this is the end for companion interactions, considering that Nadia and Zenith played pretty big roles, and Nadia's conversation with JCs probably has a more personal feeling than with other classes during Jedi Under Siege (likewise with Doc and JKs), so it's hard to imagine that Bioware put in effort to developing these relationships just to abandon them entirely. Perhaps it's wishful thinking, but I'm hoping that these "personal moments" we get with our companions will be developed further. I feel like we're hitting a climax of sorts in terms of the story arc, so it might be time to show how far our characters and their companions have come since their journey from Tython/Korriban/Ord Mantell/Hutta. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldVengeance Posted July 12, 2021 Author Share Posted July 12, 2021 It would be kinda a waste if this is the end for all "interactive" companion "interactions." To think that each of us have come so far in our own class story journeys alongside our companions - Havoc Squad, Vette the Sith slave, Jaesa the corrupted Jedi - and their journeys would all end with a whimper. That would be a shame. But the thing is, I'm just not really convinced that this is the end for companion interactions, considering that Nadia and Zenith played pretty big roles, and Nadia's conversation with JCs probably has a more personal feeling than with other classes during Jedi Under Siege (likewise with Doc and JKs), so it's hard to imagine that Bioware put in effort to developing these relationships just to abandon them entirely. Perhaps it's wishful thinking, but I'm hoping that these "personal moments" we get with our companions will be developed further. I feel like we're hitting a climax of sorts in terms of the story arc, so it might be time to show how far our characters and their companions have come since their journey from Tython/Korriban/Ord Mantell/Hutta. They do seem to be implying there is more to come with these relationships, but the rate of releasing content for them is so slow that it doesn't seem like there is. Back when Jedi Under Siege was announced, Charles made a point of saying "It's the beginning of a relationship, guys" when it came to being able to start new romances with Nadia and Jaesa. And in both cases, it seemed like there could be more development to those relationships, but we haven't heard a peep from them since. And with Dorne and Vector being same sex romancable, it is even earlier in that relationship. Does flirting with Vector or Dorne even officially begin a romance with the in 6.1? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth-Obvious Posted July 12, 2021 Share Posted July 12, 2021 (edited) So the biggest issue with companions is the sheer volume of them and the economics involved with doing anything that requires using any number of the companions at any one time. So let's lay out some stuff in order to get the best overall view with what we're working with here. Note: I'm just going to be using the vanilla companions for this example to make things a bit easier all around. Number of Classes: 8 Number of Class Voice Actors: 16 (1 Male, 1 Female for each class) Number of Companions Per Class: 5 Number of Companions Total: 40 (42 counting ship droids) Number of Companions that speak English: 33 (35 counting ship droids) Number of Voice Actors for Companions: 33/35 (No one actor voices more than one companion nor do any of the Class Actors voice any of the companions) Number of Languages the game is recorded in: 3 - The Class Actors are always signed to multi-year contracts because every story update is generally going to require that they speak. The companion voice actors, more specifically the vanilla ones, don't have the same contracts/deals. - The frequency with which Lana and Theorn are used is probably a good indication that their actors have similar contracts to that of the Class Actors. Economics & Reality If there was an update (expansion, etc) that used or required all the vanilla companions that would be at least 49 actors just for the English version of the game. Multiply that by 3 for the other languages at your at 147 and again note this is just for the vanilla companions. The reason(s) why you don't see X character(s) show up in specific instances where those characters would make sense is because those actors aren't always available for the team to work with for any number of reasons whether it be scheduling or restrictions placed on them by SAG (Screen Actors Guild) or whatever else. Unfortunately what this means is that you can't always write story conent with those characters in mind. You/they have to write a story within the constraints of what they have to work with which isn't always a lot. Problem Solving So, those are the problems, now you gotta ask yourself how you (or the devs) can get more interactions with the companions while working within those limitations. A bunch of new companion specific cutscenes that are intigrated into the story or separate little adventures that give all the companions a moment or whatever, ie the thing people want, is kind of off the table or out of the question. The other problem with that is that it ultimately leaves you right back in the same place you were once you finish that scene having a shell of a character that no longer has any new story or interactions. Given the sheer volume of companions who knows when they'll be able to get around to all of them or back to ones that have already gotten an update. A New/Old System What you would need, at least initially, is something simple that can easily be designed around or built off of. For example, the Alliance Contacts use a system similar to that of the old Bioware games where the conversations are presented in letterbox with multiple dialogue choices listed out vertically. This is a simple easy to use framework that allows Bioware to go back in and make changes add more or new choices, etc. Now consider that the vanilla companions all have quite a bit of existing dialogue recorded and it's not hard to imagine that a lot of it could be repurposed, edited, spliced together in a new context albeit in a limited fashion. So for example... https://i.imgur.com/WR4J9vQ.png They don't have to use the Alliance style presentation style, they can use the dialogue wheel instead but I think you get the idea. The Romance option in this setup could also include new cutscenes created just for this new system but they would need to be simple. Examples include your characters eating/drinking together, walking together, looking at the stars, etc, but these would be little vignettes or montages with music playing over them. No new VO. Short scenes that can easily be repeated and can be used or repurposed across basically all other companions. Expectations "But I want super-specific cutscenes with unique VO and whatnot." That's not going to happen though. The economics for what's involved or required in doing that simply just don't work out with the amount of companions there are in the game. At least with a framework of some kind that can be used across multiple (if not all) companions there's something there that allows them to be more than just shells and it's something that can have features added to it over time to the point where it might be able to have more character-specific stuff. My point being to try and think more about how you/they can make the most out of what the game already has within the limitations it has because that is at least a good first step in a direction to get closer to what you/we want. The Future Also there's new AI tech that allows new dialogue to be created from existing voice lines in a way that's pretty unbelievable and it makes me wonder if SWTOR could use it? It's probably a grey area right now but I would think that if the VO was generated from just the voice files that Bioware already owns they would be within their legal right to do so. It's basically shortcutting the process I described earlier of repurposing old dialogue. https://www.gamesradar.com/witcher-3-mod-uses-ai-to-create-new-voice-lines-without-geralts-original-voice-actor/ Edited July 13, 2021 by Darth-Obvious Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OriusPrime Posted July 13, 2021 Share Posted July 13, 2021 (edited) My point being to try and think more about how you/they can make the most out of what the game already has within the limitations it has because that is at least a good first step in a direction to get closer to what you/we want. Nah, think I'll just get my class stories done and call it a day. It's unfortunate that EA's a cheapskate when it comes to these things, but that's not my problem and has nothing to do with my enjoyment. I've got better things to do. I mean, you tell me all these things, but all it comes down to is the game being a shell of its former self. They poured god knows how much into that marketing campaign for Knights of the Boring Empire, and they can't afford to pour their money into something more meaningful. It all comes down to money, it all comes down to how other games and other mmos and other companies have a bigger budget, so if they want to skimp by, that's their decision, I guess. ME3 had like tons of characters and dialogues to go through, but they managed it somehow, but as an mmo, it's inevitable that Bioware has to pour their money into anything else other than the story and dialogue, so I'm no longer interested. Can we get back to the beta stage where things were more interesting and we get to kill our companions during class stories? I mean, that's when I'd have been more interested in continuing investing in this game, when my decision matters, not this piece of crap today. I mean, honestly speaking, half the reason (probably more than half) I even bothered to continue and browse these pointless discussions about a mediocre game is because I'm bored and like to stir up trouble. lol Once I'm banned somehow, I'll move on to something else. Edited July 13, 2021 by OriusPrime Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth-Obvious Posted July 14, 2021 Share Posted July 14, 2021 Nah, think I'll just get my class stories done and call it a day. It's unfortunate that EA's a cheapskate when it comes to these things, but that's not my problem and has nothing to do with my enjoyment. I've got better things to do. A number of elements of SWTOR's shortcomings are the result of EA but having as many companions as the game has was short-sightedness on Bioware's part. Even if the game had the WoW like success EA planned on it having I still don't see how they would have been able to properly manage giving prominence to the companions alongside class stories, planetary stories, side quests, operations, flashpoints, PVP, etc. I mean, you tell me all these things, but all it comes down to is the game being a shell of its former self. They poured god knows how much into that marketing campaign for Knights of the Boring Empire, and they can't afford to pour their money into something more meaningful. Off the bat KOTFE made the big mistake of not coming up with new storylines or positions for the vanilla companions. If you take into account everything I mentioned already and the goal was to separate our characters from the vanilla companions then there needed to be a scene where our character(s) in the opening KOTFE cutscene did a tour around their ship with a narration saying something to the effect of "With the Jedi decimated from the Eternal Empire's attack Kira was called back to Tython to train new Jedi, Doc's medical skills were required..." With a giant war that just broke out that crippled both the Republic and Empire it would have been easy to come up with reasons to give many of the vanilla companions new positions throughout the galaxy. Any characters like T7, Khem, Bowdarr, etc, that don't require new VO could stay. This way you at least eliminate part of the constant need or curiosity of "Where is so and so?" "What happened to this character?" rather than the nothing KOTFE gives you until the character is re-introduced but even then re-introducing them as your companions to the point where you've now got like over 100 puts you/us right back in the same place ultimately with them becoming shells again. It all comes down to money, it all comes down to how other games and other mmos and other companies have a bigger budget, so if they want to skimp by, that's their decision, I guess. ME3 had like tons of characters and dialogues to go through, but they managed it somehow, but as an mmo, it's inevitable that Bioware has to pour their money into anything else other than the story and dialogue, so I'm no longer interested. ME3 has/had nowhere near what SWTOR has or requires. Also keep in mind ME3 is a single project with an ending not an ever-updating product. If you were comparing ME3 against SWTOR then it would need to be against vanilla SWTOR because that was the "completed" product that shipped after years of work. Can we get back to the beta stage where things were more interesting and we get to kill our companions during class stories? You mean when people complained nonstop that they killed off their healer and were left without a healer? That's why that changed. "Bioware needs to listen to what players are saying!" "Bioware should have never listened to those players!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts