An update on the development of SWTOR

[OlBuzzard]

26 minutes ago, Nee-Elder said:

[/snip - snip]

By original licensing law, LucasArts/LucasFilm/DISNEY ( which acquired LA in 2021 i believe )  still has partial chain-of-command involvement & input approval on ALL Star Wars  lore & canon storylines.

Check end-credits for SWTOR expansions, as well as this website, and other content that shows such end-credits.  ( yes i'm one of those nerds who waits & watches until end-credits finish  ) .

In other words, BioWare/Broadsword  might get the Edmonton shackles loosened soon, but they still have some constraints by those above their pay-grade.

please also note bold underscore.  IMO this is why (even though) some of my remarks are unquestionably critical from time to time ... BUT I also realize that someone else could very well be behind the final decisions that are being made.

Edited June 20, 2023 by OlBuzzard
clarification

[Firelieutenant]

Thank you so much for some clarity. I look forward to being a subscriber for another 11 years. Now please add Kashyyyk! (Haven’t beaten the new story update, just have us following Secrets about Darth Nul and artifacts being discovered on that planet)

[Vagessel]

1 hour ago, Char_Ell said:

I'm not sure how you came to believe this.  At the 2019 San Diego Cantina meet-and-greet Keith Kanneg shared a story with me how the SWTOR team had created a new speeder mount and had submitted it to Lucasfilm for review and approval as per the usual process for content being added to SWTOR.  The Lucasfilm team rejected adding the mount to the game and Keith could not understand why.  It wasn't until the movie trailer for The Force Awakens showing Rey on a speeder on Jakku that Keith realized that the mount they had submitted was quite similar to Rey's speeder.  Keith figured Lucasfilm rejected the mount because they didn't want it to look like SWTOR had the mount before it was officially revealed.

Was there not a mount that was nothing but a floating log of wood?   Does this imply Lucasfilm thought mounting a log of wood was starwarsy?  

[meddani]

3 hours ago, KeithKanneg said:

Poking in here to say that I made a thread that provides more info regarding this topic. You can read it in its entirety here. We are going to be keeping that thread locked and will add more info accordingly over time. So for now, please use this thread to continue discussion and conversation. 

Thanks, everyone.

-Keith 

ah yes, these modernizations....if this is anything like 7.0 i really can't wait lmao

[arunav]

4 hours ago, KeithKanneg said:

Poking in here to say that I made a thread that provides more info regarding this topic. You can read it in its entirety here. We are going to be keeping that thread locked and will add more info accordingly over time. So for now, please use this thread to continue discussion and conversation. 

Thanks, everyone.

-Keith 

I'm one of many players that is incredibly skeptical about the future of the game after 7.4. Like others that post on these forums, I've played SWTOR since the launch days, and the news of it moving to Broadsword was both a shock and discouraging. 

Your other, lengthier post today emphasizes story and modernizations after 7.4. 

We currently see roughly 2 'major' story updates per year, with some more minor cutscenes included in other patches between them.  These are fully voice-acted story updates, for both player characters and NPCs. Will SWTOR's story continue in this fashion after leaving BioWare? 

One of your previous posts, after the Broadsword news initially broke, mentioned 'MMO content' being planned for after 7.4, but the most recent does not. Does this mean new PVE multiplayer content, like 4-person Flashpoints, is essentially over? I don't expect to ever see another Operation, but the loss of any new Flashpoints would be a significant change to what little new MMO content is still put into SWTOR since 6.x.

What should players expect regarding the other major MMO game modes? These include Galactic Starfighter (Space 12v12 PVP), Warzones (8v8 objective-based PVP), Arenas (4v4 PVP), aside from the previously mentioned Operation content (8-16 person PVE). Will updates include new additions to these parts of SWTOR?

Will new open, 'explorable' planets, now typically daily areas, still be put into the game after the transition to Broadsword? More recent examples include Onderon and Ruhnuk.

Finally, what will Broadsword's approach to the Cartel Market be? Will it stay the same as BioWare's has been since its inception, i.e no pay-to-win endgame items, primarily cosmetic offerings and convenience unlocks for F2P/preferred players?

You've no doubt seen players' reaction to the reputation Broadsword has for the 2 older MMOs it currently manages, i.e. a studio for games in 'maintenance mode.' There are many subscribers that seem to think SWTOR is heading to Broadsword for the same purpose, not irrationally, despite any mention of future content being planned after 7.4.

If maintaining subscriptions/CC purchases matters between now and when the game formally transitions to Broadsword, I think some clarification on what to expect in updates after 7.4 would be appropriate, i.e. a post or video that answers the questions above, and covers other aspects of the game, like new events, Strongholds, Cartel Market items, etc. Essentially, most players I know find it difficult to believe SWTOR will be updated as BioWare has been able to do, even if those updates have become smaller and less frequent since 5.x, given what Broadsword's record is with the 2 MMOs it currently manages. 

Edited June 20, 2023 by arunav

[Advocatis]

2 hours ago, LtGeneralGezlin said:

I heard a similar thing around time time that Treek was added. As long as there was no mention of Endor by name, or Ewoks (by name), Lucasfilm was totally fine with Treek's addition.

I wonder why they’d draw the line at Endor, especially since Return of the Jedi had been out for a very long time.  After all, “Hoth is supposed to be devoid of human life…” yet here it is in the game crawling with pirates, Republic troops, and Empire.

[WayOfTheWarriorx]

Firstly, I find these latest comments from Keith piggy back off what he said prior, that the game is going forward same as always, that it won't be going into maintenance mode and new stories are being worked on well into the future (at least til 2025).

That doesn't necessarily mean we'll be getting any more frequent story updates or larger in size, so it may just be business as usual.

I've never got the impression that the game is going into maintenance mode or 'game is dying' this time anymore than any other time people have said it will be going into maintenance mode or will be dead by x date over the last 10 years.

Could what Keith said be a lie?

Sure it could.  But I have no reason to suspect that it is a lie.

Could it be he is saying it in good faith, believing that is the case but it not pan out for whatever reason?

Sure it could. But I have no reason to suspect that will happen.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. I don't own a Crystal Ball, I'm not a friggen Oracle from Delphi and Gandalf is still out of town. (He doesn't get to NY very often. Last time he was I took him to Wo Hops in Chinatown and I asked him if he had any insights into the future of SWTOR and he said 'wrong MMO to ask me about'.)

My background is in Law Enforcement. I was a Patrol Officer for 6 years and so I'm just working within my skill set. My background in Criminal Investigation leads me to the following pieces of evidence to base my thoughts on the future of the game on.

• Updated the game to 64 bit which was a very nice graphical improvement.
• They're working on moving the servers to Cloud Servers
• They are considering on adding an APAC server back into the game. (YaY For the Trixxie-Baby! )
• They just put out a story update (which followed a previous story update less than a year ago), a brand new Flash Point that I haven't played yet but is seemingly getting met with great approval by some players as seen on the Forums, and did some Class balancing and it seems that that class balancing did take what some of people on the forums suggested into account to some degree.
• They responded to player calls on the forums to do something about the game economy.  Granted this has been met with dislike by many on the forums in the manner in which they did so, but, they did respond to calls to address the economy at least. Hopefully they'll do some fix ups on that to address some of it's pitfalls.
• This is the third time they have commented on the move to Broadsword in under 3 weeks. And as they work remotely there is no issue with employees needing to move. Business as usual on the dev side.
• In this last story update they added an optional scenes with a LI companion that probably more than half the player base killed. Arcaan. Something people in that "We love Arcann" thread have been asking for for a long time. Which quite honestly I'm shocked as hell they did one thing with Arcaan this late in the game. I'm shocked they wasted limited resources on him considering not only the fact that most peeps wacked his stupid ass but also that he was worse than a certain German dictator who's name we're not allowed to say. There is no redemption for people like that and quite honestly 'curing' someone of the Darkside with some silly ritual is dumb as hell IMO. Which makes it all the more noteworthy that they did that and did that for a very small portion of the player base who has been begging them for something with him.

The thing about evidence, is that evidence isn't proof. It's evidence. That's why when you sit on a Jury and they explain to you how to make a judgement call on guilt or or innocence, they tell straight out, you don't need to be 100% sure they're guilty or innocent. Just beyond a reasonable doubt. But reason is subjective. What seems reasonable to some might not seem reasonable to others.

So, all these bullet points, they don't prove a thing.

I suppose it's possible someone thought it would be a good idea to waste tons of money and time on something that they knew was going into maintenance mode or knew was ending or was about to do things that were going to drive tons of players away and cause them to lose tons more money. That's possible.

But I don't think it's likely.

So what do these pieces of evidence lead me to thinking is the most likely state the game is going in the future?

Business as usual at the very least. And given that they have been making improvements (64 bit, Cloud servers, adding an additional server for a test run in the Trixxie-Baby's neck of the woods (APAC), I wouldn't discount the possibility of further improvements to the games functionality and even possibly more story new story content, or better new story content under a different management's business sense.

George Lucas always said that at it's basis Star Wars is about Hope.

https://64.media.tumblr.com/75eae2cd5a5d1c15ba83590cafdd90cf/ea464500d675a0ce-0e/s540x810/beb2e93538fd55de9134c64aa4eb294231602fd8.gif

That's my stance on all this, based on these bullet points of evidence. I'm hopeful and that Hope is based on this evidence.

What I can say with a bit more confidence is there is no reason to believe this game is over, that's it dead, or that it's dying. There just isn't enough evidence to support that conclusion.

Could I be totally off base?

Sure I could be.

There's nothing wrong with being skeptical. But none of us know the future and none of us work for this game and thus none of us has any inside knowledge.

I'm fine with Hope based on evidence and I liked what Keith had to say and I Hope it's true. And until I lose that Hope I will continue to support this game with my subscription and make no apologies for that.

What other people do with their money is thier business.

Edited June 20, 2023 by WayOfTheWarriorx
I can't spell for shyt.

[KyraMalakai]

1 hour ago, Advocatis said:

After all, “Hoth is supposed to be devoid of human life…” yet here it is in the game crawling with pirates, Republic troops, and Empire.

Isn't swtor supposed to be taking place 3628 years give or take before The Empire Strikes Back? It makes sense that at that time there was plenty of life around.

[Kristallia]

5 hours ago, KeithKanneg said:

Poking in here to say that I made a thread that provides more info regarding this topic. You can read it in its entirety here. We are going to be keeping that thread locked and will add more info accordingly over time. So for now, please use this thread to continue discussion and conversation. 

Thanks, everyone.

-Keith 

Thank you so much for the update, that actually made me very excited!🤗

Especially the directx 12 part! I am really looking forward to hear more about it.

[Nee-Elder]

53 minutes ago, WayOfTheWarriorx said:

There's nothing wrong with being skeptical. But none of us know the future and none of us work for this game and thus none of us has any inside knowledge.

Does outside knowledge count?   Because here's a little side tidbit  about EA today i find interesting & rather coincidental ...

"Video game company Electronic Arts as shaken up its executive team, including hiring a new chief financial officer, and reorganized the company’s studios under two groups: EA Entertainment & EA Sports.
As of June 20, Stuart Canfield has been appointed executive vp, CFO, taking over the role from Chris Suh, who decided to step down effective June 30. Canfield has worked at EA for 20 years.
Under the new reorganization, EA Entertainment unit will comprise studios that create well-known IP such as Apex Legends, the Star Wars games"

*quick Google search and you can find the article(s)

[JakRoanin]

Translation please?

[OlBuzzard]

@WayOfTheWarriorx :  One of the best posts you have ever made!  Well thought out ... well written!  Excellent ... IMO.

@Nee-Elder :  Interesting information.  EA Sports suffered several lost contracts and with the turbulent recent history of SWTOR I'm not the least bit surprised.  Somewhere down the road someone inside of the umbrella of EA / BW lost control.  Someone ignored a LOT of clearcut warning signs  (such as lost contracts).  Change was inevitable. 

BTW...  @Nee-Elder thank you for the post.  It confirmed one of my theories that was sounding in the back of my mind like a 4 alarm fire alert.  I never comment on such conjecture without some sort of confirmation (of sorts).  Of course this is the Net ... no telling just how accurate some of this information is.  Just the same... it sounds about right.   If I have enough of the reaction thingies I'll snag one for you!

My own conclusions:
** Primarily one of cautious optimism sprinkled throughout with skepticism as a direct result of someone generally ignoring the community for the last several years.
** IF there is a separation from the negativity of certain BW / EA overlords IMO that will show up within the first 6 months of the new ownership.  
** A New Hope :  To borrow a previously established SW title...  Perhaps.  I think that there are a lot of folks hoping that this is the case.
** Still something missing:  I can't put my finger on it...  Something still just doesn't feel right!  It should be noted that I do hope that @WayOfTheWarriorx is right!  No one can say conclusively just where this is all going.  And frankly my skepticism is a bit too firmly planted in RECENT history.  And quite frankly one in which I hope that I'm simply wrong about.  For now ... don't think that I am.

BTW.. it should be noted that the team is well aware of our concerns.  Even when we post something like this... they know.  And I'm equally certain that they also understand enough about this business to know a good deal when they see it.  NO!  I don't expect them to share matters of concern within the company with the general public.  That is just plain ignorant!  I do believe that they ALSO know enough about what their plans are to have an old-fashioned sit-down meeting (or virtual when applicable) and come up with something a little more concrete.  This will take time.   The clock is ticking.  Unfortunately, in this day and age time is never really on anyone's side.

Perhaps another step has been taken in the proper direction.  If so ... it was a small one!  And for now... maybe that is the best approach to take. (especially if someone is watching over their shoulder).

[ReKabNad]

4 hours ago, Vagessel said:

Was there not a mount that was nothing but a floating log of wood?   Does this imply Lucasfilm thought mounting a log of wood was starwarsy?  

Have a Jedi or Sith riding it, and they're simply levitating and propelling it by "using the Force", which is the very definition of "Star Warsy"! 😜

[xxSHOONYxx]

4 hours ago, arunav said:

Finally, what will Broadsword's approach to the Cartel Market be? Will it stay the same as BioWare's has been since its inception, i.e no pay-to-win endgame items, primarily cosmetic offerings and convenience unlocks for F2P/preferred players?

BioWare cartel market is nothing to praise either. Anything that is somewhat cool ends up there, messing up with the actual game that could actually keep players playing. Wings of the architect/crest of the dread master being a prime example of what could be, cosmetic that was released 10-9 years ago yet still very sought after by people.  
Any of the 5400 weapons could have been added to the actual game instead of the cc under a grindy objective and keep people doing that. Do this dailies 1k times? this item! Reach max reputation on this event? Actual cool cosmetics! Have 100/200/500/800/1k mounts unlocked on a character? This special mount/title. And so on. 

The whole designe of the bioware cartel market is short sighted and designed to get instant money taking away what could expand the life span of the little content they produce or give a reason for new players to also do old content and making people spend more time in game.

Edited June 21, 2023 by xxSHOONYxx

[DIVAvonFarstar]

8 hours ago, Vagessel said:

Was there not a mount that was nothing but a floating log of wood?   Does this imply Lucasfilm thought mounting a log of wood was starwarsy?  

🤣... that "Tree" was for April Fools' Day.

[fabsus]

Quote

 

What’s changing for players after this shift happens? 

For all of you, not much is changing at all. Players will continue playing the game and swtor.com and the forums will continue to remain online and a source for players to get news and updates. Support for SWTOR will remain unchanged and players can continue to utilize the EA Support Page or in-game tools for assistance.  

 

i think that was quit clear for the majority of ppl, because it was the same with UO and DAOC. 

Quote

 

Will the SWTOR development team be moving out of Austin? 

We are already a remote team with staff working from home throughout the US and beyond. That said, our physical presence will still be remaining in Austin and we will be securing a new office space here.

 

during covid it was the excuse for ongoing delays and it was explained, that there are several reviews needed, taking way longer working in remote.
when everything keeps the same, so why the change at all? 
how many real game devs will remain on swtor?
and why broadsword is still not hiring anybody, except that one network engineer?
so i read, that the team, really working on the game, will shrink. 
how should that be an improvement?

Quote

 

Is the game heading into maintenance mode? 

Absolutely not. As I’ve said before, we are working on future plans including more story and modernization initiatives for the game. We’ve upgraded the game to 64-bit, and are working on moving the servers to the cloud, and there are more content and tech updates on the way. 

Moving to a third party studio would allow us a lot of creative freedom, and we're very much looking forward to the opportunities that will be open to us. 

 

when ppl are talking about maintenance mode, they don't mean that the game freezes and is just online. but what the most understand with the term maintenence mode is, that new real content won't come at all. so no new uprisings, no flashpoints, no operations, no new storyline. 
but nobody thinks, that seasons and events will stop. 
so while you talk about creative freedom, do you mean with that, that disney/lucasarts won't review any of the new content?

personally i also would say, that even after the switch to a third party, stuff already nearly done will be finished. but tbh, i don't expect anything real new. and with a shrunken crew, looking at the little content we got over the last years... come on.

Quote

 

What will happen to moving servers to the cloud? 

That is still happening. We will have to reassess timelines, but we have every intention of moving forward with migrating our servers over to the cloud. We are also continuing with our evaluation regarding the APAC server as well.

 

(i skipped the part with ea and cartel coins, because nothing will happen. as i wrote above, we could see it with DAOC and UO.)

going back to 64bit. i mean that's a great change, not gonna lie. i didn't expected it at all. and for some players it improved some stuff, others got more problems. and we got several more issues and game breaking bugs with the change. but isn't the switch to 64bit just caused by the requirements from aws? certificates for example and the y2k38 problem. 
maybe you wanna go a bit into detail. 
(even today we got tons of problems with certificates crashing systems with y2k38 issues.)

 

sorry to say so, but when i take a look at the past months and years, you (company) already lost any creditility,
because of too many excuses, too many delays, so little released stuff, with the same fails promised never will be done again, and of course your intention here is to calm all down, not to damage the ip anymore. but at this time, with no 
detailed roadmap, this all is just pr bla bla for me. nearly no clear information and your wording still chosen, to not to give any clear information to hold you liable for. 

i know that we are just customers, but with the 10 year desaster i think you own us an honest, clear and transparent answer.

 

Edited June 21, 2023 by fabsus

[TonyTricicolo]

"No need to worry, relax. Business will continue as usual."

Translation- No communication, drip fed biannual content, and a steady flow of new cartel market items.

If you can handle another 11 years of this then more power to ya! 😛 ha ha

[Stradlin]

10 hours ago, arunav said:

 

What should players expect regarding the other major MMO game modes? These include Galactic Starfighter (Space 12v12 PVP), Warzones (8v8 objective-based PVP), Arenas (4v4 PVP), aside from the previously mentioned Operation content (8-16 person PVE). Will updates include new additions to these parts of SWTOR?

 

Imagine how cheap this stuff is to create, when compared to fully VA'd story content.  Having PC say "Hello there" in full VA  takes 48 different playerchar voice  actors(!!!!) to happen. It must be incredibly costly and  difficult  to keep doing this.

.....As is evident from how little the droplets of story are.  Besides that, if they release 15 mins of story content, people are pretty much done with it in..15 minutes, and start asking for more.

Meanwhile, new GSF map or game mode would last years, or decades..for those who like GSF.

 

 

Edited June 21, 2023 by Stradlin

[WayOfTheWarriorx]

6 hours ago, Nee-Elder said:

Does outside knowledge count?   Because here's a little side tidbit  about EA today i find interesting & rather coincidental

Sure it does and anything anyone thinks is relevant to the discussion that comes from a related source is certainly fair game for consideration.

6 hours ago, Nee-Elder said:

"Video game company Electronic Arts as shaken up its executive team, including hiring a new chief financial officer, and reorganized the company’s studios under two groups: EA Entertainment & EA Sports.
As of June 20, Stuart Canfield has been appointed executive vp, CFO, taking over the role from Chris Suh, who decided to step down effective June 30. Canfield has worked at EA for 20 years.
Under the new reorganization, EA Entertainment unit will comprise studios that create well-known IP such as Apex Legends, the Star Wars games"

*quick Google search and you can find the article(s)

Admittedly I really don't have a good head for business, and so I'm a little embarrassed to admit that I'm not sure what to take from this. Could you explain how you think this plays into things. I get the feeling that it wasn't something to illicit optimism, I'm just not sure what this means exactly.

You might have to dumb it down a bit for me. heh. 🤔

5 hours ago, OlBuzzard said:

** Still something missing:  I can't put my finger on it...  Something still just doesn't feel right!  It should be noted that I do hope that @WayOfTheWarriorx is right! 

Me too.

4 hours ago, xxSHOONYxx said:

Any of the 5400 weapons could have been added to the actual game instead of the cc under a grindy objective and keep people doing that. Do this dailies 1k times? this item! Reach max reputation on this event? Actual cool cosmetics! Have 100/200/500/800/1k mounts unlocked on a character? This special mount/title. And so on. 

This is a very good point. LOTRO does this and they even have seasonal events that are the only time that one could work towards earning some new really cool mount, or armor, clothing, heraldic decoration or weapon and people love it.

While I get why Bioware does it with CCs (Money), you could still do some few rare items that can only be earned in game through doing content.

And it doesn't have to be locked behind very hard content. Doing it this way makes it accessible to all players and gives a good reason to do old content and repeatable content. It keeps the largest amount of players busy, gives them something to work towards and it makes them happy when they finally get something really cool and wanted.

It's an excellent idea and I have no doubt your right on this.

[Jaiyne]

Lotro was sold twice from the original studio and every year it's had expansions and level cap changes, many new classes, new races, whole new maps, new raids, tons of new instanced content. Lotro has never felt like a dead game...well, except the PvP lol.

[LJ_Gibbs]

14 hours ago, JakRoanin said:

Translation please?

Please don't unsub.  I am telling you we are still planning stuff, and, in reality, we really aren't.

[OlBuzzard]

A couple more thoughts to ponder.  And an olive branch (of sorts) the key personnel at the top of the food chain inside of SWTOR ??? 

(maybe)

** Any of us that have been around this industry for any length of time have seen a lot of written promises over the years.  Some more articulate than others.  Some more lengthy.  Some are truthful ...others nothing more than a smokescreen (see the development of games such as STO.  I was involved with the game before release.)  
** For some of us this almost looks like a shadowing of deja'vu.  
** On the other hand, there is nothing like going overboard.  Nothing will kill a situation (or get things further off track) than the disquisition of intertextual analysis found on the internet.

In short .. the truth can often be a three-edged sword.   IN this case:
** Those that really desire the game to go forward (both players and people who make their living developing it).
** Those that are simply fed up and are tired of the art of persuasive propaganda
** And of course, those that are simply looking for an honest straight-forward snapshot of what they can actually expect.  

The history of video gaming is replete of incidents similar to what we are experiencing right now.  Perhaps the best thing for someone like me is to simply say: 
"Give me a genuine reason we can expect a brighter future!"  
***More content
***More frequent updates
***A wider variety of activities

And yes ... these points are just the tip of the iceberg.  If the team is genuinely reviewing over these forums (as I do believe that they are) ... then they already have their fingers on the pulse of the community and understand fully what I've just posted.  I believe that they are intelligent and well versed in all of the matters at hand.

Surely there is some common ground where expectations can meet with reality!

[Mirarei]

18 hours ago, WayOfTheWarriorx said:

Firstly, I find these latest comments from Keith piggy back off what he said prior, that the game is going forward same as always, that it won't be going into maintenance mode and new stories are being worked on well into the future (at least til 2025).

That doesn't necessarily mean we'll be getting any more frequent story updates or larger in size, so it may just be business as usual.

I've never got the impression that the game is going into maintenance mode or 'game is dying' this time anymore than any other time people have said it will be going into maintenance mode or will be dead by x date over the last 10 years.

Could what Keith said be a lie?

Sure it could.  But I have no reason to suspect that it is a lie.

Could it be he is saying it in good faith, believing that is the case but it not pan out for whatever reason?

Sure it could. But I have no reason to suspect that will happen.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. I don't own a Crystal Ball, I'm not a friggen Oracle from Delphi and Gandalf is still out of town. (He doesn't get to NY very often. Last time he was I took him to Wo Hops in Chinatown and I asked him if he had any insights into the future of SWTOR and he said 'wrong MMO to ask me about'.)

My background is in Law Enforcement. I was a Patrol Officer for 6 years and so I'm just working within my skill set. My background in Criminal Investigation leads me to the following pieces of evidence to base my thoughts on the future of the game on.

• Updated the game to 64 bit which was a very nice graphical improvement.
• They're working on moving the servers to Cloud Servers
• They are considering on adding an APAC server back into the game. (YaY For the Trixxie-Baby! )
• They just put out a story update (which followed a previous story update less than a year ago), a brand new Flash Point that I haven't played yet but is seemingly getting met with great approval by some players as seen on the Forums, and did some Class balancing and it seems that that class balancing did take what some of people on the forums suggested into account to some degree.
• They responded to player calls on the forums to do something about the game economy.  Granted this has been met with dislike by many on the forums in the manner in which they did so, but, they did respond to calls to address the economy at least. Hopefully they'll do some fix ups on that to address some of it's pitfalls.
• This is the third time they have commented on the move to Broadsword in under 3 weeks. And as they work remotely there is no issue with employees needing to move. Business as usual on the dev side.
• In this last story update they added an optional scenes with a LI companion that probably more than half the player base killed. Arcaan. Something people in that "We love Arcann" thread have been asking for for a long time. Which quite honestly I'm shocked as hell they did one thing with Arcaan this late in the game. I'm shocked they wasted limited resources on him considering not only the fact that most peeps wacked his stupid ass but also that he was worse than a certain German dictator who's name we're not allowed to say. There is no redemption for people like that and quite honestly 'curing' someone of the Darkside with some silly ritual is dumb as hell IMO. Which makes it all the more noteworthy that they did that and did that for a very small portion of the player base who has been begging them for something with him.

The thing about evidence, is that evidence isn't proof. It's evidence. That's why when you sit on a Jury and they explain to you how to make a judgement call on guilt or or innocence, they tell straight out, you don't need to be 100% sure they're guilty or innocent. Just beyond a reasonable doubt. But reason is subjective. What seems reasonable to some might not seem reasonable to others.

So, all these bullet points, they don't prove a thing.

I suppose it's possible someone thought it would be a good idea to waste tons of money and time on something that they knew was going into maintenance mode or knew was ending or was about to do things that were going to drive tons of players away and cause them to lose tons more money. That's possible.

But I don't think it's likely.

So what do these pieces of evidence lead me to thinking is the most likely state the game is going in the future?

Business as usual at the very least. And given that they have been making improvements (64 bit, Cloud servers, adding an additional server for a test run in the Trixxie-Baby's neck of the woods (APAC), I wouldn't discount the possibility of further improvements to the games functionality and even possibly more story new story content, or better new story content under a different management's business sense.

George Lucas always said that at it's basis Star Wars is about Hope.

https://64.media.tumblr.com/75eae2cd5a5d1c15ba83590cafdd90cf/ea464500d675a0ce-0e/s540x810/beb2e93538fd55de9134c64aa4eb294231602fd8.gif

That's my stance on all this, based on these bullet points of evidence. I'm hopeful and that Hope is based on this evidence.

What I can say with a bit more confidence is there is no reason to believe this game is over, that's it dead, or that it's dying. There just isn't enough evidence to support that conclusion.

Could I be totally off base?

Sure I could be.

There's nothing wrong with being skeptical. But none of us know the future and none of us work for this game and thus none of us has any inside knowledge.

I'm fine with Hope based on evidence and I liked what Keith had to say and I Hope it's true. And until I lose that Hope I will continue to support this game with my subscription and make no apologies for that.

What other people do with their money is thier business.

Thank you for your insight, @WayOfTheWarriorx. I do hope you are right.

While I do not usually write on the forums, I often read the opinions of others. English is not my main language, but I try to wrap up my feelings as well, because I feel like it is time I let my voice heard.
I get it that a significant portion of the player base is frustrated and angry, feeling ignored and let down. When we all started, we got less and less by the years. Nothing is ever perfect, remember that. But also remember that all of the players who are still here and supporting this game is here for a reason: the game holds a special place in our hearts. The storytelling, the immersive gameplay, and also the bonds we have formed within the community. It kept us invested for years. Personally, SWTOR is a refuge for me, a source of inspiration. I hope and I believe in the future of the game, and I am committed to seeing it flourish for another ten years - at least.
It was not for nothing that they announced the 64-bit or cloud, and I do not believe those who says this game is dead. It will be, when the servers are dead. You can call me naive or whatever you want, really, but I will continue to support SWTOR.
It would be nice to see respectful communication towards the team to share our desires and concerns, and in our frustration, channel that energy into constructive suggestions. I know you all did, and some of the concerns are heard, some are not. How could we know if these suggestions will not appear later in the future? Seeing nothing does not mean there is nothing.
While I am also a bit sad about it, I try to remain positive; if I will be disappointed, that is my problem. 

 

Thank you for hearing me out.

[hillerbees]

Thanks for the info Keith.

I think I've had so much disappointment with almost everything after the Ziost story (hated Kotet and Kotfe in particular and Commander moniker) and yet there is somethng about the game that keeps me playing I'm prepared to see what happens.  I hope the devs which whom we are familiar are to retain their roles in the new structure and that Broadsword truely does enable some improvements which are long overdue.

Crafting and gearing are in such a bad place right now its just beyond further comment.

Galactic Seasons is fun but, as others have stated, its losing some of its lustre.

Those of us who have stuck with the game for over a decade want to to see the game thrive so lets hope it does.

I appreciate the communication about what is happening.  The track record in that regard during your tenure has been less than promised I feel and I just wanted to voice my feeling that being kept in the loop as a player DOES matter.

My expectations are low so hopefully you and your team can surpass them, I wish you and them every ounce of encouragement in your efforts.

[FlameYOL]

On 6/20/2023 at 2:06 PM, KeithKanneg said:

Poking in here to say that I made a thread that provides more info regarding this topic. You can read it in its entirety here. We are going to be keeping that thread locked and will add more info accordingly over time. So for now, please use this thread to continue discussion and conversation. 

Thanks, everyone.

-Keith 

Even if I am still skeptical, its good news to see DX12 is being considered. I also wonder what further steam integrations you're planning, definitely interested in hearing about it I hope whatever it is it fixes the subscription issues steam has with the game.