I just managed it on a Marauder with my best healer companion. I got her through the Jensyn fight at the end. Totally cool and shocking.

It's new. We spent over the holidays raking them over the coals for not communicating/reiterating their promise to add the arcs....I am certain that after the community managers and folks in charge read e-mail/post after email/post emphasizing their terrible communication skills, they took the road they should have ages ago and formally confirm their intent. ~J

That is your opinion, and you are entitled to it. But..yes it is on BW and EA. Based on their history with same gender relationships in game content, many of us who have been long time fans of BW and loyal customers anticipated SGR content. What we did not anticipate was it turning into a public relations three-ring circus. Happy Holidays.

Not to agree with them, but overlaying new dialogue (retrofitting) is always challenging. It calls for a new layer of programming (that could 'break' existing dialogue) Frankly, it is easier from a development standpoint add new, independent companions that are SGRA driven. Story is not hard, computer scripting is challenging and nitpicky. I am not certain that the idea that old companions are going to be retrofitted was ever in the works. That means Theran, Corso, Kaliyo and others that just beg to be SGRA oriented likely will not be. I could be wrong though.

It is not too late when they promised the content. No change in affection is required for current relationships...and frankly, the old "majority rules" argument is problematic. To be charitable, I will not go into great detail as to how much the "straight, white, male" crowd is unthinkingly given preference (privilege) in every facet of modern life. Delivering on your product promises is beneficial in the fact that you keep players that you would have lost who will , in turn, happily tell friends who left, who will likely come back. It is better than where they are at right now. This is turning into a public relations nightmare for them, if they don't deliver they lose more numbers and get no opportunity to rehabilitate a sullied reputation. The calculus is simple to make. Do the right thing, keep and add people. Don't do the right thing, lose people and reputation. ~J

I was referring to PM's...

They are contractually barred from discussing specifics about the amount of time they worked and fiduciary renumeration they received, they are also contractually barred from discussing the details of what voice work they were contracted to complete. This is standard operating procedure for SAG-AFTRA voice acting contracts. Since EA/BioWare is signatory to SAG-AFTRA union agreements, they are prohibited from hiring non-union talent. We could get a fair idea of need from internal announcements regarding auditions...but that would not yield specifics. ~J

I never heard from at all...so this is different how?

I have no beef with Allison, but I am so tired of seeing the community treated distantly. Oh...how about those SGRA's you guys promised? Any progress on that? ~JC

Many people asking about SGRA's in that thread. I will add my voice shortly, but I had to scream about Hickman and the Life Day speeder. Utterly amateurish crap. ~J

...and with good reason, the speeder looks like a futuristic lawnmower with "Life Day" (Christmas) lights. I know a fair number of Full Sail graduates who would be embarassed to put such a crappy piece of animation into the game, much less monetize it. I swear, you could put "Toro" on the grill and no one would be surprised. Allison, I love you, but it appears you and your bosses seem to think we are cattle with wallets. It's all good when a "secret" leads to hot new content, but when the "secret" makes a wet, disgusting sound when it hits the sidewalk, that qualifies as both a PR and developmental failure. Not spending a dime until we get some specifics. ~JC

I am well into the process of certifying natashina for sainthood. The amount of sheer dedication she has put into this process has gone far above and beyond ordinary effort. A rousing "thank you" is in order for her. As all my Faire friends say, "Hip, hip....HUZZAH!" ~JC

Terrific work, natashina. ~J p.s. good luck on the tooth extraction.

What happened with SWTOR? Overpromised game with underpromised results. It was released too soon (rushed) with class A and B bugs in the "finished" product. Not that EA/BW is any more or less guilty of that than other game publishers. The result is what you see....a game with about 10 US servers (superservers?) and 6-8 RoTW servers. At publication, there were around 120+ servers. Customer service is downright lousy, community managers do their jobs unevenly....a recipe that lead to early FTP and a mad scramble to stabilize revenue in order to keep the game viable. EA went from a high of $61.52 per share after the BW acquisition to around $15.00 per share USD. ...ah, but don't you worry, all is well...there is nothing wrong with the game...the Emperor is wearing a lovely set of ermine robes and a silk ensemble that would make any royal envious....

Excellent column, badlydrawnroy. I hope it adds to our discussion of SGRA's here.