An update on the development of SWTOR

[HypSpec]

The game launched over a decade ago in a gaming environment that has been producing new games and content at an increasing rate. What do you expect to happen eventually? Maint mode then plug pulled. Are we there yet? Not for sure but we should still expect it sometime on the near horizon.

Many of us find this inevitability hard to deal with because it is the only SW mmo out there and this mmo was unique in it being so strongly story-based pulling lots of solo players beyond the franchise allure itself. Founders and those solo players more so see the faucet of fresh content being turned off as the end, and I can understand that.

For me, I am fortunate that I only started playing the game in late 2019 and so a lot of content I can still explore. But most of what I do is endgame group activities and space barbie, so as long as it does not take a long time to form an op group, my guild stays active, and I can explore more outfit combos, I am more than happy and will spend my cash.

So in the meantime, I am in Thelma and Louise mode. Pedal to the floor, cracking beers, and racing to the cliff while enjoying the ride until we reach it!

[Pirana]

4 minutes ago, TonyTricicolo said:

I have a strong hunch that the reason why this game is being scuttled is to make room for Ubisoft's SW game which is rumored to be released in 2024. SOE then EA then Ubisoft see the pattern here? History repeats itself, then again what do I know? Ha ha

There's also the rumored one from ZOS, ESO's parent company. They've hired on a number of space developers in the last year, could be nothing, could mean something, either way, this move is intentional and this game will close in under a year, and if not, it's simply maintenance mode. SWG > SWTOR and now onto the next one. lol

[jedimasterjac]

16 minutes ago, Pirana said:

but keeping wishing for the best

I don’t think you’ve seen my other comments in this post if you at all think I’m optimistic about what this move means. 

Edited June 8, 2023 by jedimasterjac

[Pirana]

8 minutes ago, jedimasterjac said:

I don’t think you’ve seen my other comments in this post if you at all think I’m optimistic about what this move means. 

No I haven't nor the desire to. lol No offense, just not going over every post here.

Hey, I hope I'm wrong and would love to be proven wrong, I've been here since launch and have a lot of time invested in this game. I was there when SWG went down and I'll be here if this one sets sail. There are a lot players here that have invested their time and spent hundreds, if not thousands of dollars on this game, only to be sht on by this company over the years, no matter how many times we told them not to do this, not to do that, they rarely to never listened, now they're getting exactly what they deserve. 
 

[Pirana]

32 minutes ago, HypSpec said:

The game launched over a decade ago in a gaming environment that has been producing new games and content at an increasing rate. What do you expect to happen eventually? Maint mode then plug pulled. Are we there yet? Not for sure but we should still expect it sometime on the near horizon.

Many of us find this inevitability hard to deal with because it is the only SW mmo out there

https://swglegends.com/forums/forum.php SWG in its final format when it closed down, including a plethora of added content over the last seven years from the Legends staff. Legends has been around almost as long as SOE's SWG. Just an FYI if something should happen here. The period the game is set in, is between EP4 and 5.

[Trlance]

Sometimes I had something negative to say about this game, but the truth is that it's still doing great. Maybe it's time I wrote something positive. I've been playing for 10 years practically without any breaks (I've been a subscriber since 9 and still i am) and I'm very happy when I read that the developers still have plans for the distant future. I can't wait to see what happens next in the story (story minded player here but I do ops and raids too, everything) and if this game is going to be closed, it's ONLY because of stupid comments like here about some theories that are almost unsupported .

Echoes and Vengeance story top. Dantooine story disappointed me a bit, but Elom and Ruhnuk.. better than I expected. I can't wait to see what happens next, and in the meantime luckily I have a whole planet of Ruhnuk to explore which will keep me busy for the next few months.

Thanks for everything, I hope swtor has many more years to come. I have a great legacy here (10 years, 22 characters and i return to all of them sometimes) .. I'm already making my fourth music video about what I've done and where I've been in the game and it would be hard for this legacy to end suddenly.

~ Tsukito, Alliance Commander

Edited June 8, 2023 by Trlance

[TalLura]

1 hour ago, casirabit said:

Except for the fact he did not address the point that Broadsword has the reputation of only doing maintenance on the games they get and rarely adds content to any game they acquire.

 

I think it's hard to keep pumping new content for old games when small player base and income stream, and a small team to do so. 

I think we need to remember swtor still has revenue coming in and a much larger player base at current then both of Broadsword games , and the 40+ team who transfer over will make up more then entire Broadsword current staff who are split across 2 games

The money the game brings in will no longer be split 3 ways between ea, swtor and rest of bioware who has not produced any game since basically prepandemic 

 

Now it will just be Broadsword and ea split, so chance for reinvestment in game to be greater 

Im honestly hopeful even if it means needing to lower expectations on what new content will be (ie non voiced lines etc) 

Edited June 8, 2023 by TalLura

[jedimasterjac]

2 minutes ago, Pirana said:

https://swglegends.com/forums/forum.php SWG in its final format when it closed down, including a plethora of added content over the last seven years from the Legends staff. Legends has been around almost as long as SOE's SWG. Just an FYI if something should happen here. The period the game is set in, is between EP4 and 5.

Legends is a great game. Plenty of fun. 

[casirabit]

6 minutes ago, Pirana said:

https://swglegends.com/forums/forum.php SWG in its final format when it closed down, including a plethora of added content over the last seven years from the Legends staff. Legends has been around almost as long as SOE's SWG. Just an FYI if something should happen here. The period the game is set in, is between EP4 and 5.

Yea, I have an account there so I played there sometimes.

 

[GeneralGyro]

leave it to arm chair analysts to know exactly what is gonna happen to swtor 

[OlBuzzard]

I've personally tried not to be too harsh ... and for a reason!

**  I've been where Keith is at .. from a standpoint of being face with some troubled times and VERY difficult decisions!  So, even though I've been very supportive in the past .. I have also been critical of a number of issues IN THE PAST as well.  BUGS ... Ignoring requested input from the community and a totally missed opportunity for a grand slam 10th anniversary...  just to mention a few!
**  Ignoring "gamers" is all too often a mantra repeated by developers in general.  (This has been shared to my son by more than one person who has been at the top of a development team ... AND others who have worked in the industry in other capacities.  Sooo to some degree I get that.  I disagree with it .. but that seems to be the case all too often.  That is NOT always the case.  Some companies do listen and do take steps when the situation warrants it.  This has not been the case with SWTOR particularly in the last few years.  When this happens repeatedly ... that establishes an unfortunate precedent as well as very negative side effects.   Those effects often drag with it other ramifications that harbor ill will until something finally gives way.  IMO this is what has finally happened.
**  Although I rather suspect that @KeithKanneg no doubt would have some choice words for me about right now .. I would like to suggest that instead ...  please consider this.  Yes, things are tense right now!  I know that it would have been best for BW that this information was postponed for a few more months.  That did not happen.  Regardless of how we got to this point ... we are here and now we need to see what needs to be done next?

(a part of the equation)
Before the next step can be answered .. I would also like to suggest that many of us have offered honest evaluations which have been largely ignored ..  repeatedly .. actually.  The last straw for me personally was the way the last GS series was handled.  There were SEVERAL really good ideas posted .. and promptly ignored!  Now then.  Yes I get it.. free stuff to do little more than climb into the hamster cage and run a few more laps!  I'm not going to rehash old threads.  It was pretty much a waste of time for zero rewards of any consequence.  I would guess with things unfolding as they were it APPEARS that the real story SEEMS to be a minimal amount of effort in order to keep things running until the transfer is complete.  

That is how so much of this now appears to so many people looking at this on the surface.

So ...  here we are.

What next?

@KeithKanneg I know you have your hands full.  I truly get that!  I'm almost certain that I'm not helping.  Yet (even though some of my friends might have been surprised at my responses at this point) .. it is necessary to see if what has been broken can be fixed.

If SWTOR is indeed heading to the great cyber cloud in the sky ... then simply try to make peace with everyone.  IF this is indeed a new beginning then let's clean this mess up and move things forward.  That means new stuff!  That means read the GS thread that a member of your staff started ...  and take it to heart (for openeres)

I honestly believe that there are a lot of people that will be more than willing to listen to reason when that information is followed up in a positive fashion (not more smoke and mirrors).

BTW.. it should be noted that posting this is not a lot of fun either (At lest to me it isn't).   We've spent a lot of time in game and here on the forums.  Met some really nice folks ..  a couple on SWTOR staff (I still wish I could see them IRL).  So ... yeah this is business of sorts.  I hope that we can come to an understanding!  

Edited June 8, 2023 by OlBuzzard
clarification

[TonyTricicolo]

2 hours ago, GeneralGyro said:

leave it to arm chair analysts to know exactly what is gonna happen to swtor 

Well, we are kept in the dark with no communication like a buncha mushrooms fed dribbles of dung. We are left with only our speculation.

Edited June 8, 2023 by TonyTricicolo

[Jdast]

4 hours ago, Kurinana said:

Yeah.... About him... Wasn't he the one who pushed for the changes nobody asked for? Well, he and his small Discord group did ask for it.  He and his small hive knew people dislike what they desired, yet he pushed his agenda into the game which lead to some of the worst decisions we saw in 7.0.

So no thanks, I'm not gonna think everything is gonna get better just because somebody who helped get rid of so many players says so.

I wish I could like this post more than once. I actually went to Twitter and read his self-cathartic venting / rant where he in a very passive way trashed Bioware / EA for not marketing the game more. 

While I agree that there should have been more marketing / advertising, let's be very clear: He and his private fan group on a third-party Discord channel were responsible for some of the worst design decisions I've seen in my 30 years of gaming. The numbers absolutely reflect this point (and no, I'm not going to get in a discussion about Steam, relative sampling and statistical significance).

Those calls were coming from inside the house and had nothing to do with lack of support from Bioware / EA. The fact that Ruins of Nul was not playable depending completely on chance for over a month was shameful. Combine that with making a variety of changes to class abilities in order to please the PvP time-to-kill crowd and a convoluted retrograde gearing system had absolutely nothing to do with marketing or support from above.

Like others have posted, I'll adopt a wait and see attitude, but I find it difficult to believe that cutting the staff by roughly 50% can be spun in a positive light. Sure, 7.3 is going to be released shortly and I'm sure plans / development for 7.4 are well underway. Beyond that, however, let's just say I'm skeptical.

Dasty

[Pirana]

13 minutes ago, OlBuzzard said:

I've personally tried not to be too harsh ... and for a reason!

**  I've been where Keith is at .. from a standpoint of being face with some troubled times and VERY difficult decisions!  So, even though I've been very supportive in the past .. I have also been critical of a number of issues IN THE PAST as well.  BUGS ... Ignoring requested input from the community and a totally missed opportunity for a grand slam 10th anniversary...  just to mention a few!
**  Ignoring "gamers" is all too often a mantra repeated by developers in general.  (This has been shared to my son by more than one person who has been at the top of a development team ... AND others who have worked in the industry in other capacities.  Sooo to some degree I get that.  I disagree with it .. but that seems to be the case all too often.  That is NOT always the case.  Some companies do listen and do take steps when the situation warrants it.  This has not been the case with SWTOR particularly in the last few years.  When this happens repeatedly ... that establishes an unfortunate precedent as well as very negative side effects.   Those effects often drag with it other ramifications that harbor ill will until something finally gives way.  IMO this is what has finally happened.
**  Although I rather suspect that @KeithKanneg no doubt would have some choice words for me about right now .. I would like to suggest that instead ...  please consider this.  Yes, things are tense right now!  I know that it would have been best for BW that this information was postponed for a few more months.  That did not happen.  Regardless of how we got to this point ... we are here and now we need to see what needs to be done next?

(a part of the equation)
Before the next step can be answered .. I would also like to suggest that many of us have offered honest evaluations which have been largely ignored ..  repeatedly .. actually.  The last straw for me personally was the way the last GS series was handled.  There were SEVERAL really good ideas posted .. and promptly ignored!  Now then.  Yes I get it.. free stuff to do little more than climb into the hamster cage and run a few more laps!  I'm not going to rehash old threads.  It was pretty much a waste of time for zero rewards of any consequence.  I would guess with things unfolding as they were it APPEARS that the real story SEEMS to be a minimal amount of effort in order to keep things running until the transfer is complete.  

That is how so much of this now appears to so many people looking at this on the surface.

So ...  here we are.

What next?

I know you have your hands full.  I truly get that!  I'm almost certain that I'm not helping.  Yet (even though some of my friends might have been surprised at my responses at this point) .. it is necessary to see if what has been broken can be fixed.

If SWTOR is indeed heading to the great cyber cloud in the sky ... then simply try to make peace with everyone.  IF this is indeed a new beginning then let's clean this mess up and move things forward.  That means new stuff!  That means read the GS thread that a member of your staff started ...  and take it to heart.

I honestly believe that there are a lot of people that will be more than willing to listen to reason when that information is followed up in a positive fashion (not more smoke and mirrors).

BTW.. it should be noted that posting this is not a lot of fun either (At lest to me it isn't).   We've spent a lot of time in game and here on the forums.  Met some really nice folks ..  a couple on SWTOR staff (I still wish I could see them IRL).  So ... yeah this is business of sorts.  I hope that we can come to an understanding!  

Good post as usual. 

Yeah, I've been there myself too many times to count, terminated when I was a youngster and having to terminate people myself later on in life, it's not a good feeling. I've been part of downsizing specific areas of an operation, no pun intended, and avoided the hit myself. I don't envy the position some of these people are in and I absolutely wish them all the best regarding the rumored layoffs.

I honestly do hope this game continues to persist. This company needs to be transparent now more then ever and not fabricate anything to make a few more dollars.

[OlBuzzard]

Just now, Pirana said:

Good post as usual. 

Yeah, I've been there myself too many times to count, terminated when I was a youngster and having to terminate people myself later on in life, it's not a good feeling. I've been part of downsizing specific areas of an operation, no pun intended, and avoided the hit myself. I don't envy the position some of these people are in and I absolutely wish them all the best regarding the rumored layoffs.

I honestly do hope this game continues to persist. This company needs to be transparent now more then ever and not fabricate anything to make a few more dollars.

Agreed!  (I'm not sure how many of the like/dislikes I have left ... I'll see)

I truly hope this can get sorted out!  YES, there are two sides to all of this.  Some of which could have been avoided.  What is past is past!  It is what it is!  

IMO it's time to sort this out and move forward.

My first choice would be for healing and growth.  If that option is not available .. then (unfortunately) there's just not anything else I can do!  I have done my part.  

OH ... and thanks for the kind words!  I don't take that sort of thing for granted!

[Sarova]

On 6/7/2023 at 12:17 AM, codydmaan said:

I hope everyone starts to buy sub month to month now cuz ill feel bad for those who buy 6 month subs when game goes offline

^This.

Many gamers have been around long enough to know game doom when we see it.  Keith might have been better off waiting until there is concrete news on the future of this game before posting anything.  After class stories, there hasn't been an expansion that remotely compares to how good they were/are.  Dripping out a bit of story twice a year since the end of KotET hasn't really been fun (I think the most recent story continuation was meh, and the daily area is awful).  I've spent far more time in the nostalgia expansion of that other game than in SWTOR lately; when I do log in, I'm mostly playing class stories on alts.  Maybe it is time for maintenance mode on SWTOR and for Disney or whoever to focus on a new SW MMO-style game.

[sithBracer]

29 minutes ago, OlBuzzard said:

I've personally tried not to be too harsh ... and for a reason!

**  I've been where Keith is at .. from a standpoint of being face with some troubled times and VERY difficult decisions!  So, even though I've been very supportive in the past .. I have also been critical of a number of issues IN THE PAST as well.  BUGS ... Ignoring requested input from the community and a totally missed opportunity for a grand slam 10th anniversary...  just to mention a few!
**  Ignoring "gamers" is all too often a mantra repeated by developers in general.  (This has been shared to my son by more than one person who has been at the top of a development team ... AND others who have worked in the industry in other capacities.  Sooo to some degree I get that.  I disagree with it .. but that seems to be the case all too often.  That is NOT always the case.  Some companies do listen and do take steps when the situation warrants it.  This has not been the case with SWTOR particularly in the last few years.  When this happens repeatedly ... that establishes an unfortunate precedent as well as very negative side effects.   Those effects often drag with it other ramifications that harbor ill will until something finally gives way.  IMO this is what has finally happened.
**  Although I rather suspect that @KeithKanneg no doubt would have some choice words for me about right now .. I would like to suggest that instead ...  please consider this.  Yes, things are tense right now!  I know that it would have been best for BW that this information was postponed for a few more months.  That did not happen.  Regardless of how we got to this point ... we are here and now we need to see what needs to be done next?

(a part of the equation)
Before the next step can be answered .. I would also like to suggest that many of us have offered honest evaluations which have been largely ignored ..  repeatedly .. actually.  The last straw for me personally was the way the last GS series was handled.  There were SEVERAL really good ideas posted .. and promptly ignored!  Now then.  Yes I get it.. free stuff to do little more than climb into the hamster cage and run a few more laps!  I'm not going to rehash old threads.  It was pretty much a waste of time for zero rewards of any consequence.  I would guess with things unfolding as they were it APPEARS that the real story SEEMS to be a minimal amount of effort in order to keep things running until the transfer is complete.  

That is how so much of this now appears to so many people looking at this on the surface.

So ...  here we are.

What next?

@KeithKanneg I know you have your hands full.  I truly get that!  I'm almost certain that I'm not helping.  Yet (even though some of my friends might have been surprised at my responses at this point) .. it is necessary to see if what has been broken can be fixed.

If SWTOR is indeed heading to the great cyber cloud in the sky ... then simply try to make peace with everyone.  IF this is indeed a new beginning then let's clean this mess up and move things forward.  That means new stuff!  That means read the GS thread that a member of your staff started ...  and take it to heart (for openeres)

I honestly believe that there are a lot of people that will be more than willing to listen to reason when that information is followed up in a positive fashion (not more smoke and mirrors).

BTW.. it should be noted that posting this is not a lot of fun either (At lest to me it isn't).   We've spent a lot of time in game and here on the forums.  Met some really nice folks ..  a couple on SWTOR staff (I still wish I could see them IRL).  So ... yeah this is business of sorts.  I hope that we can come to an understanding!  

That's nice but when BW reads this they only thing they will ask is "how is this going to help the cartel market in the next week?"

[TonyTricicolo]

We're at 13 pages now. Ain't no one from Bioware going to sit down and read all this mumble jumble.

[CrazyScruffy]

35 minutes ago, GeneralGyro said:

leave it to arm chair analysts to know exactly what is gonna happen to swtor 

Yes because you haven't assumed anything about the move... like no new content only new CM items... 

[jedimasterjac]

5 minutes ago, TonyTricicolo said:

Ain't no one from Bioware going to sit down and read all this mumble jumble.

Pretty sure they have been. The “is currently viewing” thing showed at least one developer on this thread for quite some time yesterday. 

Edited June 8, 2023 by jedimasterjac

[Nee-Elder]

10 minutes ago, TonyTricicolo said:

We're at 13 pages now. Ain't no one from Bioware going to sit down and read all this mumble jumble.

They're reading page by page, trust me.

oh to be a fly-on-the-wall at  BW Austin HQ  this week....

[CrazyScruffy]

8 minutes ago, Nee-Elder said:

They're reading page by page, trust me.

oh to be a fly-on-the-wall at  BW Austin HQ  this week....

I wonder too how the rumors of LucasFilms being sold off is playing into this as well. 

[jedimasterjac]

2 minutes ago, CrazyScruffy said:

I wonder too how the rumors of LucasFilms being sold off is playing into this as well. 

Those rumors are fake. It’s literally coming from the same people who are never right and only ever make up stuff that excites a faction of man-children that call themselves Star Wars fans. 

[CrazyScruffy]

4 minutes ago, jedimasterjac said:

Those rumors are fake. It’s literally coming from the same people who are never right and only ever make up stuff that excites a faction of man-children that call themselves Star Wars fans. 

Seems a bit harsh but alright lol

[OlBuzzard]

1 hour ago, Nee-Elder said:

They're reading page by page, trust me.

oh to be a fly-on-the-wall at  BW Austin HQ  this week....

Man .. you said it!

WOW !!!

Hopefully some good will come out of this.  I'm a bit skeptical (I still stand by posts)  ...  BUT there are always possibilities (as someone once said).