7.0 Follow Up

[forcedpolitics]

Some thoughts:

 

About companion strength, we’re investigating why they are underperforming in level-synced content.

 

With respect to modernizing our UI, we know this is an area where opinions are going to vary widely, and we don’t expect that to change. However, these updates are vital to the ongoing success of SWTOR as technology continues to improve far beyond where it was when the game shipped, such as monitor resolutions or GPUs being faster and having more memory. We know UI changes must be evolutionary and we need to ensure consistency, improved experience, and just better overall flow.

 

We are listening and will continue to make adjustments based on your feedback. We are hopeful as we release patches, we’ll find a balance between updated designs, making adjustments, and ensuring your play experience is enjoyable.

 

--Keith-

 

How is a massive window that takes up your entire screen a 'better overall flow'? How is an annoying galactic season/cartel market AD window opening across the left side of the screen a 'better overall flow' ?

 

Pre 7.0 you could fully play the game with your character sheet and inventory windows both open, now you cannot, resulting in a WORSE overall flow. Plain and simple.

 

People who designed these systems don't grind Swtor, it's very evident.

 

Who has actual creative control for this game? We want to talk directly to them.

[akaryusa]

Some thoughts:

 

About companion strength, we’re investigating why they are underperforming in level-synced content.

 

With respect to modernizing our UI, we know this is an area where opinions are going to vary widely, and we don’t expect that to change. However, these updates are vital to the ongoing success of SWTOR as technology continues to improve far beyond where it was when the game shipped, such as monitor resolutions or GPUs being faster and having more memory. We know UI changes must be evolutionary and we need to ensure consistency, improved experience, and just better overall flow.

 

We are listening and will continue to make adjustments based on your feedback. We are hopeful as we release patches, we’ll find a balance between updated designs, making adjustments, and ensuring your play experience is enjoyable.

 

--Keith-

 

Or just let us choose which ui we want - the old one or the 'new' one with some parts being changed and some parts being old, which looks like you took random things from the T pile and put them together

[akaryusa]

And for god's sake, separate character sheet/inventory window

[JackieKo]

With 7.0.1's release slated for March 22nd, when do you intend to release the 7.1 update with the Manaan daily area, the operation, and weapons in outfit slots? Are these things delayed yet again, or is the update still on track to being released in the month after the 7.0 expansion, as was suggested in previous dev posts?

 

Thank you for taking the time.

 

Hi TMasterWind,

 

We do not have info to share about 7.1 at the moment as there is a lot of focus on 7.0.1. However, once we do have those details to share, we will be informing everyone on the forums/the website and social channels.

[Farferello]

Companions are under performing because you decided to level sync their Presence so now they're terrible outside of level 80 areas. An influence level 50 companion is no better than a level 1 and they likely won't benefit from any Datacrons or Legacy unlocks that also provide Presence.

 

I've watched a companion just stand there or decide to keep shooting rather than heal my half dead character when he had heals ready to use. They also have Accuracy issues and I've seen their attacks miss, companions in tank mode are pretty terrible when it's their big aoe taunt that misses.

Edited March 10, 2022 by Farferello

[supercometl]

 

With respect to modernizing our UI, we know this is an area where opinions are going to vary widely, and we don’t expect that to change.

 

--Keith-

 

One Question, WHO?

 

Like seriously. Who went "Oh you know the character sheet that had all your information at a glace, visually similar to kotor stylings, with your character standing at a slight right looking angle that allows for the armor to showcase itself at a glace? Why don't we scrap that for a black box UI where you have less options, somehow more cluttered while having less at a glace value."

 

By the way, I don't even hate all of it. The issue for every "upgrade" we saw 3-4 downgrades in both visuals and user experience.

 

My take on PTS UI was with an asterisk that some things would be changing before launch. The parts that changed? The ones I thought were okay looking. The ones that stayed the same? The UI design of lightblue on BLACK, with small selectable boxes with a HUGE UI window with empty space.

 

By the way, I am not asking for you to revert it, as the new UI obviously is structured in a way to facilitate the combat style and loadout changes. But you need to start asking how you can change the user interaction level of this user interface to facilitate a properly enjoyable experience. The character sheet and inventory screen is the most used pop-up in the game. It NEEDS to be both visually appealing, and low skill to use and understand. Hiding elements doesn't do that. It just makes it harder to explain to people what they need to do to access useful information.

[klizilii]

About companion strength, we’re investigating why they are underperforming in level-synced content.

 

--Keith-

Is it also going to be adjusted in level 80 content? The fact that my companion now does about 1/2 of the damage it used to do while my character does 20% more damage makes the companions drastically different for helping in flashpoints compared to what we had. Could we at least be told if this intentional to have companions do less than 9k dps when our characters are capable of doing +27k?

[curulz]

Hi TMasterWind,

 

We do not have info to share about 7.1 at the moment as there is a lot of focus on 7.0.1. However, once we do have those details to share, we will be informing everyone on the forums/the website and social channels.

 

Can you share if the loot boxes being empty for players is going to resolved? I did GSF today and yet another box was empty. Is it going to be fixed and how do I get my gear in the meantime? I know items have been returned to players if they accidentally deconstructed them, but they can't provide a loot box that actually has loot in it? CS basically said "we know its an issue, sorry". I get expansions are going to have bugs, but I can't believe you're not equipped and ready to replace what players were denied thru no fault of their own.

[NicoleMay]

About companion strength, we’re investigating why they are underperforming in level-synced content.

 

It's because Presence scales down now! Along with tert stats like accuracy, alacrity, and crit.

 

You need to ensure that the percentages for tert stats stay the same when scaling down. If I have 110% accu on fleet, I should have 110% accu everywhere.

 

Presence needs to not scale. This is why companions are struggling.

[Akevv]

Hi TMasterWind,

 

We do not have info to share about 7.1 at the moment as there is a lot of focus on 7.0.1. However, once we do have those details to share, we will be informing everyone on the forums/the website and social channels.

 

Expect Summertime, probably July or August, and y’all shouldn’t be disappointed. Having said that, 7.1 is going to need to be more like 7.5, and everyone who is still playing at that time absolutely loving it, or this game simply won’t gave enough of a following to continue. We tried to say as much, on the PTS back in December. Anyone can read it, how combat choices were actually not choices, how combat felt slower how the interface was ugly, but all that made it live anyway. Oh well.

[Ambrodel]

With respect to modernizing our UI, we know this is an area where opinions are going to vary widely, and we don’t expect that to change.

 

You don't expect opinions to change, or the UI?

 

However, these updates are vital to the ongoing success of SWTOR as technology continues to improve far beyond where it was when the game shipped, such as monitor resolutions or GPUs being faster and having more memory. We know UI changes must be evolutionary and we need to ensure consistency, improved experience, and just better overall flow.

 

That's a lot of fancy PR talk for "deal with it". Maybe the pill would be a lot easier to swallow if you shared your "vision" for the changes. In depth. Not just the gist of it.

 

We are listening and will continue to make adjustments based on your feedback. We are hopeful as we release patches, we’ll find a balance between updated designs, making adjustments, and ensuring your play experience is enjoyable.

 

Are you, Keith? Are you really listening? Are you really adjusting based on our feedback? Are you really hopeful that you can ensure an enjoyable experience? Because every step you've taken so far points in the other direction.

[Torun]

It's because Presence scales down now! Along with tert stats like accuracy, alacrity, and crit.

 

You need to ensure that the percentages for tert stats stay the same when scaling down. If I have 110% accu on fleet, I should have 110% accu everywhere.

 

Presence needs to not scale. This is why companions are struggling.

 

That makes sense. Combat effectiveness does not appear to be degraded with lvl 70 and above content. Quite frustrating when your main is spanked doing low level heroics but, with a companion can solo a lot of end game content.

[JLazarillo]

About companion strength, we’re investigating why they are underperforming in level-synced content.

Any chance y'all are looking into other tertiary stats as well? Alacrity is in kind of an awful place where it's basically useless to anyone not doing level 80 content full time, since it scales below the necessary thresholds when you're leveled down.

[Akevv]

All the old interface needed, was a new tab that offered ‘loadouts’ instead of the outfit designer. They could have gone wild, and added a third tab for character appearance too. They could have literally copy/pasted the project code, form layout, and connected the database to the new locations, had it done in a week. You have to wonder, who decided it was a priority to move the buttons for the inventory, disassembly tool, etc from the left side of the inventory window to a much less obvious space above the inventory blocks, in the same inventory window. They created a job number, and assigned dev hours, to move buttons from the upper left, to the left top. Uhh… Like, who ever sat around and said “gee those buttons off to the left, really must be moved, immediately’?

 

I just … don’t get their priorities, why they chose to ignore their own source material (KOTOR, KOTOR II, and SWTOR itself) in favor of (poorly) implementing features that other games that are not remotely related, have. Whomever asked for login awards? A ‘galactic season’? Again, why, and who was this for? That stuff didn’t move the story forward, nor did it help ‘reduce complexity’, which always seems to be the fallback answer for pruning stuff that makes SWTOR worth playing, that makes it unique. I just … don’t get it.

 

One Question, WHO?

 

Like seriously. Who went "Oh you know the character sheet that had all your information at a glace, visually similar to kotor stylings, with your character standing at a slight right looking angle that allows for the armor to showcase itself at a glace? Why don't we scrap that for a black box UI where you have less options, somehow more cluttered while having less at a glace value."

 

Snip!

[Lyriel]

 

With respect to modernizing our UI, we know this is an area where opinions are going to vary widely, and we don’t expect that to change. However, these updates are vital to the ongoing success of SWTOR as technology continues to improve far beyond where it was when the game shipped, such as monitor resolutions or GPUs being faster and having more memory. We know UI changes must be evolutionary and we need to ensure consistency, improved experience, and just better overall flow.

 

Some of those changes are not just areas of varying opinion. They do not conform to good usability and accessibility practices. Rather than telling players that changes that cause eye strain or migraines are somehow 'state of the art,' your teams need to do the work to understand UI/UX as a whole instead of just playing around with what they like to look at and calling it good because they don't personally have issues with it.

[Darittha]

About companion strength, we’re investigating why they are underperforming in level-synced content.

 

I noticed this instantly - i thought maybe some dps companions got downgraded a bit, but its not just one or two favorite companions im using often, its all of them - no matter the role, they are weaker.

 

I hope this gets resolved because when stuff like some heroics was very hard before, now its quite impossible because companions are so much weaker and just arent able to support the player as they used to on same content like they did before 7.0.

Edited March 10, 2022 by Darittha

[MaximusRex]

With respect to modernizing our UI, we know this is an area where opinions are going to vary widely, and we don’t expect that to change. However, these updates are vital to the ongoing success of SWTOR as technology continues to improve far beyond where it was when the game shipped, such as monitor resolutions or GPUs being faster and having more memory. We know UI changes must be evolutionary and we need to ensure consistency, improved experience, and just better overall flow.

 

Maybe you and your team need to do more to tell about these changes, what their benefits are, and do more to seek buy in from the community. Players are also stakeholders, and that should be considered as part of the project management cycle. If feels like it wasn't in this case.

 

Will these changes improve UI performance so I can stop hitting a button, triggering global cooldown, but not having the ability fire off?

 

Will you be fixing long lasting UI bugs like the Social bar not being part of the UI editor, or not locking in place so it stays were we put it?

 

Will clicked links stop appearing off screen if we have the chat box at the bottom of screen?

 

It also feels very unprofessional and half done, with low resolution textures, and the tab around the close window X on the Rewards window being crooked since its introduction.

[Pricia]

Some thoughts:

 

About companion strength, we’re investigating why they are underperforming in level-synced content.

 

With respect to modernizing our UI, we know this is an area where opinions are going to vary widely, and we don’t expect that to change. However, these updates are vital to the ongoing success of SWTOR as technology continues to improve far beyond where it was when the game shipped, such as monitor resolutions or GPUs being faster and having more memory. We know UI changes must be evolutionary and we need to ensure consistency, improved experience, and just better overall flow.

 

We are listening and will continue to make adjustments based on your feedback. We are hopeful as we release patches, we’ll find a balance between updated designs, making adjustments, and ensuring your play experience is enjoyable.

 

--Keith-

 

Regarding the UI, do you have plans to make the other windows match the inventory/character ones? Because it just looks weird right now and if you're looking for consistency, this isn't it.

[Zergnaut]

 

 

About companion strength, we’re investigating why they are underperforming in level-synced content.

 

 

 

--Keith-

 

Finally an acknowledgement that this is NOT working as intended! THANK GOD! Belsav level sync is the worst out of all areas for some reason. The companion under performs the MOST there

Edited March 10, 2022 by Zergnaut

[JattaGin]

Expect Summertime, probably July or August, and y’all shouldn’t be disappointed.

 

If Jackie cannot even share any first thoughts about 7.1, this means that the patch isn't even on the drawing board yet. You're optimistic regarding summertime. They will do the March patch. Then they will have one patch with more bugfixes and adjustments (in regards to what Mr. Schmidt wrote) which will come in May/June. Then there'll be the summer break, so we're speaking about September as the earliest release date for 7.1. Please, someone quote me when you find out that I was right. I won't be able to call it out myself anymore after tomorrow.

[Totemdancer]

Some thoughts:

 

About companion strength, we’re investigating why they are underperforming in level-synced content.

 

With respect to modernizing our UI, we know this is an area where opinions are going to vary widely, and we don’t expect that to change. However, these updates are vital to the ongoing success of SWTOR as technology continues to improve far beyond where it was when the game shipped, such as monitor resolutions or GPUs being faster and having more memory. We know UI changes must be evolutionary and we need to ensure consistency, improved experience, and just better overall flow.

 

We are listening and will continue to make adjustments based on your feedback. We are hopeful as we release patches, we’ll find a balance between updated designs, making adjustments, and ensuring your play experience is enjoyable.

 

--Keith-

 

And Keith,

What about the Font change to the UI and other parts of the game?

This was one of the major complaints about it on the pts as well as 7.0 release.

It’s great that you are looking at the other parts of the UI, but that’s not mine or some other peoples problem with it.

The FONT change has literally made me stop playing because of the eye strain.

Can we please get an acknowledgment that you guys are fixing this too.

My sub runs out in a few days and I’ve already canceled it because I can’t play while it’s like this.

It would be good to know if this is something you are going to fix in 7.0.1 or at all?

[dannomite]

Re: Malgus bug: If it's not happening on your dev box... maybe server load related? Or latency related? Edited March 10, 2022 by dannomite

[Spikanor]

maybe jackie or Keith can tell what more about the level-synced content since some off us like my self wane know if it thanks to the new level-synced content that has make relic's more worthless on the lower level planets since its not working at all.

since you only can use the rellic effect's in PVP and on place where you not get level synced like the fleet or your stronghold.

[iopseal]

More doubling down on bad design decisions justified using PR- speak about "vision". I don't know how the redesigned UI made it past PTS let alone how Keith can try and justify it? I guess its just another part of his vision?

 

Meanwhile I cannot play the game without getting a nasty tension headache, changes in the font make dialog etc hard to read with my dyslexic brain, can I get reimbursed for the money I wasted on a subscription?

[Glzmo]

With respect to modernizing our UI, we know this is an area where opinions are going to vary widely, and we don’t expect that to change. However, these updates are vital to the ongoing success of SWTOR as technology continues to improve far beyond where it was when the game shipped, such as monitor resolutions or GPUs being faster and having more memory. We know UI changes must be evolutionary and we need to ensure consistency, improved experience, and just better overall flow.

I'm all for it. With GPUs being so fast and having so much memory as standard now, maybe you will finally be able to give us those long-promised, optional speech bubbles/chat bubbles that your predecessors took out after beta because they ate too much video memory for those 256MB VRAM GPUs back then (which is not a problem anymore!).