Since I haven't played in a while and got a friend referral I was hoping by now there ought to be at least a basic toggle option to enable chat bubbles available. Alas, it still isn't the case. I was going to subscribe, but since this feature still isn't in, I'll let my free friend referral time run out instead. Come on, "Bioware" or rather EAw, it can't be that hard, can it? But I guess you don't even want to try as it's more important for you to waste development time on the cartel market and ripping players off than adding useful and long-promised features to the game! Agreed. It's a very sad state of affairs, but I guess one can't expect any better from EA.

Devs, will the first big update of 2016 finally bring us chat bubbles? I certainly hope so! It's been over 4 years since you first promised them to be implemented. It's about time you finally make good on your word and implement them!

Are chat bubbles finally added with SWTOR 4.0 Knights of the Fallen Empire? I sure hope so!

So basically nothing new? They should hire Glz so he can fix the bubbles for them and he can put his money where his mouth is!

One can just switch them off anyhow. A toggle keybind would be great, or even better, options to set them for various situations like warzones, flashpoints, operations, groups, etc.. I myself have just returned to the game to check it out again, hoping that chat bubbles were in by now, but alas, the lack of chat bubbles still makes the world feel sterile and empty to me since I always miss what people /say around me and they miss what my character /says around them, and not just in roleplay. Even simple greetings etc. are often ignored/noticed too late because people like to focus on the game screen instead of the chat window. My medical condition doesn't help either, as I can only focus on one thing. I just want to be able to focus on the game action and pretty graphics of the game world and still see which character on my screen says what where and when and not have to pause, look at the chat window, look at the character name, look at every character name around me to see which one said something while I get killed or worse, miss the time window to respond. And in larger areas, I get headaches trying to follow relevant chat spam. Please add the option to enable chat bubbles (or simply overhead chat so I can at least see what a character says and when on the screen) back into the game, Bioware. Without them I'll have to leave the game again, as I'm a social roleplayer that roleplays and socializes in all situations, even PVE, PVP, questing, levelling, etc. and I simply can't enjoy the game and not get headaches without them and thus truly need them. Meanwhile, I'll be forced to give my money to MMORPGs that have this wonderful feature already, although I'd much rather play a Star Wars MMORPG like TOR, since it's my favourite setting by far. Hopefully one day TOR developers will grant my wish and that of countless others and add the much requested option to enable chat bubbles. Surely after three years this game was live, this feature can be put back to top priority for one of the upcoming patches, can't it (perhaps a patch that focuses on GUI improvements and is designed with roleplayers and socializers in mind)? It's simply a matter of Bioware wanting to do it or not, as UI Programmer Kolek already stated they know how to fix the performance issues and it's simply a matter of allotting time to make it happen. So please, Bioware, make it happen. My money is ripe to be reaped for many years once you add chat bubbles to the game!

Any updates, Bioware? It would be very nice if you could tell us what your plans are regarding chat bubbles. Thank you very much!

Welcome to the movement! Let's hope our dear developers will finally do something to grant us the request for chat bubbles. It'd certainly convince me to play again (my long-term subscription expires sometime today and that will be it until we get chat bubbles). Fingers crossed!

What about CHAT BUBBLES? Surely you have them on the roadmap for this year, right? RIGHT?!

Well, that has been done for over 2 years now. I think it would only be fair that those that are waiting for chat bubbles would finally get them. It's been the number one feature the social roleplay community has been craving for since launch and even since before that in beta. And it's been promised to us by Bioware to be done soon over and over again. We were told "be patient, they are coming". We were patient and kept subscribing faithfully to the game in good faith that our money will be used for development of chat bubbles and other social roleplay features just as much as for PVP features - alas, that never happened. And we kept paying for a game that lacked the most important feature for us that would make it fun: chat bubbles. I understand that for many that are pure PVEers or PVPers that have never used them, chat bubbles may not mean much (but there are some among those that know and cherish the benefit of utilizing chat bubbles in their playstyle as well). And nobody wants to force the feature upon you. You don't like it, don't turn it on. But you have to think about the players who's main playstyle is social roleplay that had to take a backseat to all the PVPers and PVEers and their updates for years now. Don't get me wrong, we are happy for PVPers and PVErs getting their content and I support that, too, but it would be super nice and fair if the PVPers and PVEers that only care for their own playstyle would support us roleplayers and socializers for a change. Please look at it from our perspective for once. You need to realize that for many of us, Chat bubbles are of the same importance as the warzone queue, galactic starfighter hangar or group finder are for the other playstyles. Sure you can organize PVP or PVE without it just like you can organize social gatherings or roleplay, but for many those are still features that are much needed to play with others.

I'd hope they are at least already dated for a patch number this quarter internally. If not, then what are they waiting for? I can't understand why they wouldn't be added prioritized for one of the next patches. Certainly all the planned PVP, PVE and especially (ripoff) Cartel Market additions could be bumped to a patch later to implement chat bubbles at this point couldn't hurt, so those social players, roleplayers, etc. that have been waiting for over two years for this feature to enrich their chosen style of gameplay and paid their subscription faitfully will finally get what they crave. It's a pity. And then people are wondering why we aren't getting them. I wonder what it would take to get all the popular SWTOR fansites could make a plan to push for chat bubbles consistently on their sites and ask/demand them in the Q&As they get. But I guess all those high-profile fansite operators with all their luxuries sadly just don't care enough these days. Yes, that suggestion's good and seems to already be in the top post, too. Yeah! That would be nice. Companion characters already move their mouths and have animations when talking, too (just click on them to get them to talk while in the gameworld outside cutscenes). I don't think it would be hard to reuse and automatically trigger those very animations when a character types something in /say or /yell chat. Yes. Sadly, so little seems to be left of the pre-EA Bioware spirit, that they forgot all about where they've come from and who made them famous (hint for those current Bioware employees: it's Roleplay and roleplayers). That's a wonderful point and sadly, I do believe that's the only way they'll listen at this point. And ever since South Park's "Obama wins" episode, we also know what Mickey Mouse and his Disney conglomerate thinks about Star Wars, so I'm afraid there won't be any help coming from that side either.

Will chat bubbles be in this patch, too? If not, which one will they be in? We've been waiting for over two years for them now.

Wow. Two years. Countless broken promises. Still no speech bubbles in sight. That's it for me. I've been faithfully subscribing to this game in hopes for this promised feature to be added even though I couldn't really enjoy the game without it, but enough is enough. Two years without any firm date for the feature to be added in sight. It shows that Bioware and EA doesn't care about their customers anymore. All they care about is ripping them off while lying to their faces to keep them paying for features they promised yet never truly planned to deliver. You have lost a loyal EA and Bioware customer since the early 1990s who has bought virtually every game that came out on any system I owned for good due to this. Bioware and EA will never ever see a cent of my money again. And I'll gladly recommend everyone to vote with their wallets and do the same. That's the only thing Bioware/EA will listen to, it seems, as there is no reasoning with them. For those that will remain and keep fighting for chat bubbles, the original poster, Sawney, Ganden and all the others that I didn't mention by name I truly wish you'll get them one day. For me, that hope is gone, as I don't see it ever happening. I'd love to be proven otherwise, however.

Oddly enough, I seem to remember that it was said last year that the lifeday and other cartel market "event" items would be made available in a non-cartel market capacity for susbcribers a year later while adding new items, too...then again, we were promised chat bubbles to be added soon and that they were a high priority for launch or shortly there after around Life Day/Christmas around two years ago as well (and countless times after that), and yet they still aren't high enough on the priority list to have made it back into the game yet! Two years, for the great Bacca's sake! And all the promises about Cartel Market development not hindering development of game features have been broken again and again, too. Let's face it, for EA the quick cash is the most important, not implementing much requested features that would keep customers happy and subscribed long-term. I wish EA had never bought Bioware. That said, no items should ever be "embargoed" forever and available any time, especially items you have to pay with cash (cartel coins). And all items should be available directly for purchase in the cartel market as well, instead of being in gambling packs. Real money gambling like that cartel pack stuff should be verboten, especially for minors!

Due to this, my next payment to Bioware/EA will sadly also have to be a fair way off.

Agreed. Then again, it was one of the 'already working on' items/features following the guild summit anyway. Maybe they have been working on them this whole time. But if developers require two years to be able implement one feature, it doesn´t exactly speak for their abilities.