Speaking of gender, I really wouldn't mind reading about a male companion next time. Empire gets the next round, so I think I'll suggest Torian. He's cute.

I want to see more of Pierce

I think it's been a while since I trucked these out, so in celebration of F2P only being a server test away from launch...

 

here's the summary of Things We'd Really Like To Know, Please:

 

 

• Will same-gender relationships be available with current companions?
  
• If so, with which?
  
• Will same-gender relationships be available for all eight classes?
  
• If not, with which?
  
• Will new relationship options be available to characters who have already fully progressed companion stories?
  
• Is the awaited same-gender content on the schedule to be released with Makeb?
  
• Are we still on track to see that content this year?
  
• Will same-gender romance require an in-game credit or cartel coin (or any other similar) expense to unlock?
  

 

Some of these questions date back to beta testing. Others are more recent, arising from changes at BioWare Austin and in the direction of the game. Clarification of any would be appreciated.

Hello again Ms. Berryman,

 

Here is Uluain's newest list, posted in the SGRA thread:

 

Things We'd Really Like To Know, Please:

 

• Will same-gender relationships be available with current companions?
  
• If so, with which?
  
• Will same-gender relationships be available for all eight classes?
  
• If not, with which?
  
• Will new relationship options be available to characters who have already fully progressed companion stories?
  
• Is the awaited same-gender content on the schedule to be released with Makeb?
  
• Are we still on track to see that content this year?
  
• Will same-gender romance require an in-game credit or cartel coin (or any other similar) expense to unlock?
  

 

 

Some of these questions date back to beta testing. Others are more recent, arising from changes at BioWare Austin and in the direction of the game. Clarification of any would be appreciated.

 

As Free2Play is going to be released soon it would be nice at least if the last question is addressed, that is: will we have to Pay2Gay?

 

Regards.

 

p.s. I think it should be fairly clear by now that a Pay2Gay scenario would be a rather bad thing.

 

Because.

 

Edit: Oohh, got a reply (2230~)

 

Thanks Tatile! We'll continue reading the thread and passing along the feedback and questions.

 

Wonder if she's trying to tell me something

Edited October 23, 2012 by Tatile

Wonder if she's trying to tell me something

 

Heh. I imagine that is a message to all of us, me included, to the extent of "we heard you the first time".

 

Fair enough, but none of those points have ever been addressed. We're playing by the rules. When will that pay off? Do I really need to engineer another big fiasco to get these addressed? Do you think I can't or won't? All the same, I'd really rather not. It's stressful.

Free2Play is dropping soon(ish) and I imagine Ms. Berryman and Mr. Gonzalez are going to have their hands full with the aftermath of that little event. That being said, if we pitch 1.5/F2P as being this coming Tuesday (30th October), that's six weeks for the next 'content' release. That's probably going to be the new gear tier for the PvP crowd and an event of some form. That'd be Tuesday 11th December.

 

Um.

 

Maybe my calculations are off?

Watch the Dev Tracker - they already have their hands full with it.

 

Release date depends on a lot of things, but they tend to release big content patches on Thursdays as special maintenace rather than Tuesdays. My guess is at soonest the 1st of November (still within 6 weeks of 1.4 which was a few days after the autumn equinox). It might have to wait until the 8th.

 

Six weeks after that is the winter solstice, that is to say Yuletide in all its seasonal glory, roughly the one year mark after launch. I am guessing that is when Makeb is slated to drop. If so, we'll probably hear something about it next month some time. That may or may not include discussing SGRs. We'll have to see.

 

edit to rephrase around a ****ed word.

Edited October 23, 2012 by Uluain

And a gay Christmas was had by all? I can't believe that "this year" is becoming so much of a stretch.

 

Ugh, another couple of months of waiting (maybe they'll decide a Christmas release would be too "controversial") while the rest of the community shouts us down for being "impatient", whilst beating each other with sticks to get developer attention.

 

Jaded, I am.

Heh. I imagine that is a message to all of us, me included, to the extent of "we heard you the first time".

 

Fair enough, but none of those points have ever been addressed. We're playing by the rules. When will that pay off? Do I really need to engineer another big fiasco to get these addressed? Do you think I can't or won't? All the same, I'd really rather not. It's stressful.

EA, Bioware...

 

I swear if I have to bust out those novelty cake pans and brush up on my flesh tone icing skills...

 

You better like red velvet, that's all I'm sayin.

Honestly, as soon as I heard "this year", I was thinking somewhere in December, so I am not terribly surprised.

 

Given the unconscionable wait for options that by all rights should have been in the game at launch, however, which no one has ever apologized for, it would be awfully nice to get some actual information on this feature sooner rather than later.

 

That is a big effing HINT, BioWare.

 

Community people, have you tried bribing the Secret Masters who approve what info can be released? How about blackmail? Have you really, honestly exhausted your options as far as escalating this is concerned? Do you understand why we are asking?

 

Hello? Hello? Is this thing on?

Edited October 24, 2012 by Uluain

Given the unconscionable wait for options that by all rights should have been in the game at launch, however, which no one has ever apologized for, it would be awfully nice to get some actual information on this feature sooner rather than later.

 

Never use the word "soon" - they see it as an excuse to push features back by eighteen months.

 

So, what are the plans for when this doesn't drop in December? Personally I like raiding and I enjoy my current guild, but I don't think I could stick around in the new year if Bioware wants to continue treating me like a piece of **** for thinking this feature should have been in at launch.

Well, I'll just create female char's of EVERY class and will advance them, one by one, to the meeting points with desired partners. By the time, then it'll be achived, SGR could be released. Perhabs. Edited October 24, 2012 by Akhremchyk

Im sorry to tell you this, but you are living in a dream world guys. Why do you think BW havent spoken out about this, ask yourselfs that.

To me it is obvious that the reason their respons to this remains wake, is because it just wont happen. I personally dont care if it does, but you are kidding yourself if you think this will be implemented in the future.

 

Thinks about all the other stuff they could put in the game and want to put in the game? You think they are gonna put in SGR instead of that because the minority is asking for it? You asked for it before launch and it still hasent happened, so why do you think it ever will.

 

I understand why you want it, and its all fine with me if it does get into the game, but the fact is that if BW was ever gonna put into the game, they would have done it from the beginning or atleast spoken out clearly about it by now.

Im sorry to tell you this, but you are living in a dream world guys. Why do you think BW havent spoken out about this, ask yourselfs that.

To me it is obvious that the reason their respons to this remains wake, is because it just wont happen. I personally dont care if it does, but you are kidding yourself if you think this will be implemented in the future.

 

Thinks about all the other stuff they could put in the game and want to put in the game? You think they are gonna put in SGR instead of that because the minority is asking for it? You asked for it before launch and it still hasent happened, so why do you think it ever will.

 

I understand why you want it, and its all fine with me if it does get into the game, but the fact is that if BW was ever gonna put into the game, they would have done it from the beginning or atleast spoken out clearly about it by now.

 

Oh, awesome of you to be fine with this content and thank you for being sympathetic and stuff.

 

But we'll see....

Edited October 24, 2012 by wainot-keel

Im sorry to tell you this, but you are living in a dream world guys. Why do you think BW havent spoken out about this, ask yourselfs that.

To me it is obvious that the reason their respons to this remains wake, is because it just wont happen. I personally dont care if it does, but you are kidding yourself if you think this will be implemented in the future.

 

Thinks about all the other stuff they could put in the game and want to put in the game? You think they are gonna put in SGR instead of that because the minority is asking for it? You asked for it before launch and it still hasent happened, so why do you think it ever will.

 

I understand why you want it, and its all fine with me if it does get into the game, but the fact is that if BW was ever gonna put into the game, they would have done it from the beginning or atleast spoken out clearly about it by now.

 

If I'm not mistaken (have been silently reading this thread for a long long time, and fully support the idea), BioWare have already stated it is going to be included. We could of course, as you seem to, assume they're lying; but that seems rude, amongst other things.

 

Personally I am of the opinion that their silence, and occasional "we have no new information to report at this time" means exactly what it says. No new information, which makes it logical to assume the old information is still valid.

 

The two time frames we've been given were;

1. By the end of the year/a year after games release (???) Can't remember this one for sure, but I'm fairly certain something to this effect was stated.

2. Makeb was mentioned by a PvP designer as a possible location for SGR-related things. Whilst, as he admitted, story isn't his particular area of expertise given he is a PvP designer, if I'm not mistaken his comment was later backed up by another designer.

Hello, I've been watching for this feature since I first heard it wasn't in the game, pre-launch. Originally I was waiting for it to be in before I got into the game, but I jumped in recently after my friend did, to play with him. We'd both love to see this feature finally implemented, him so he can play as a guy, and me because I love roleplaying.

 

So, ya. It's nice to be in the thread, and I'm going to continue watching it for any further information.

Im sorry to tell you this, but you are living in a dream world guys. Why do you think BW havent spoken out about this, ask yourselfs that.

 

Actually, we know precisely what BioWare has said about this, as well as when they said it and in what venue. Since it seems you don't, however, perhaps it is time to review:

 

Oddly, none of this was initially posted here (although the initial announcement has been reposted occasionally by various community representatives). The September Announcement and following remarks were made on or around September 12, 2011 on the pre-launch forums, which are no longer available. Daniel Erickson's remarks were made during the developer panel on the final day of the Guild Summit hosted from March 4-6, 2012 in Austin, Texas. Gabe Amatangelo's remarks were made at Gamescom 2012, held from August 15-19 in Cologne, Germany in an interview conducted by the folks at European fansite swtor-life.com. Hall Hood's confirmation of those remarks were posted to his Twitter account on September 25, 2012.

 

Due to the design constraints of a fully voiced MMO of this scale and size, many choices had to be made as to the launch and post-launch feature set. Same gender romances with companion characters in Star Wars: The Old Republic will be a post-launch feature. Because The Old Republic is an MMO, the game will live on through content expansions which allow us to include content and features that could not be included at launch, including the addition of more companion characters who will have additional romance options.

 

Stephen made a few additional posts at the time, addressing and clarifying this announcement:

 

First of all, this is definitely not an audience that consists of a 'couple of people' and we're aware of that. We take this decision very seriously.

 

Second, it's very important to realize that this is just one of many, many content additions that will be going into the game post launch. The vast majority of our content will be of interest to the vast majority of our potential audience.

 

However, one of the amazing things about MMOs is that over time we can get to add things that are exciting and interesting to smaller audiences. Normally, that's not something that's addressed too far ahead of time. In this case, we felt the addition was warranted and should be addressed early.

 

There will be plenty of content for all to play and enjoy.

 

and

 

We can't guarantee that a character you play at launch would have romance options 'unlocked' for an existing companion. It's something that will be taken into consideration when making design decisions. Not a promise it'll happen, but we'll take that feedback and relay it through to design.

 

We fully intend to do justice to the story in our storylines.

 

As you may have heard, we take story very seriously - this included.

 

Lastly for those of you who seem concerned that you will be 'tricked' into any romance arc in the game - all romance choices are clearly marked. You will be aware you're making those choices as you make them.

 

[Given in reply to the player-submitted question, "Is there any update on same gender romance?"]

 

Is that a question people have? [laughter] This is an interesting one, because it sort of lit up and we honestly felt like if we give an update on it every single time – We've always said the same thing with it, which is that it's coming, and it's coming with story updates. And we totally understand when people hear "soon" – maybe I should have put TM next to it that says "writer soon" – but writers have a much, much larger lead time than you would expect, and we want to do any of this stuff right.

 

We heard suggestions, and we do read the stuff, and let's talk a little about the stuff that we were not willing to do. We were not willing to go in and just change all the dialogue to work for the other gender. That is not writing. That is not good storytelling. When we do this, we want to do it right. We want to do it with the characters that it makes sense, that we always knew we actually wanted to do it for those.

 

So you guys know, when we talked about it before, it ended up being a budget and scheduling issue. There are romance arcs that we wanted to do that didn't make it into the game. We knew which characters – I'm not going to tell you... [laughter, suggestions of "Forex" and "Blizz" from audience] ...It's nice to know that somebody else was thinking of Forex, too. But, ah – so, the short answer is it's never changed, it's still coming. It's coming when full story comes. And when is full story coming? This year. So we are still on track.

 

Principal Lead PvP Designer Gabe Amatangelo gave this short statement at the close of an interview which was mostly about the coming Warzone, Ancient Hypergates:

 

[swtor-life.com interview at Gamescom 2012, August 15–19]

 

Um, the same-sex relationship stuff, there is – I think it is in Makeb? In the new update, I think there is some stuff in there. But I don't know exactly. I'm not, not a writer. That's sort of the aspect that I am farthest from. But it really comes down to just getting it on the schedule and getting that content into the game

 

Lead Writer Hall Hood was asked if he could verify that SGRs would in fact be coming with Makeb, and replied laconically:

 

[via Twitter, Sept. 25 2012]

 

Hall Hood @hallhood

(1 of 2) To all the folks who have been expressing interest in SGRs, here is the official word from Gabe Amatangelo:

…

 

(2 of 2) When I can share more information, I will let you know. Writing romances is one of my favorite things about working on SWTOR. :-)

 

Now, Hall's (1 of 2) tweet vanished without explanation, but was documented before it was deleted by a couple of our regulars here. We can speculate why it was pulled, but until he actually says, that's all it is - speculation.

 

To date, that's the official word as it has come out over the past year. No date for Makeb has been announced, but we can expect to hear at least something more on same-gender content closer to when that is ready for release.

 

Thinks about all the other stuff they could put in the game and want to put in the game? You think they are gonna put in SGR instead of that because the minority is asking for it? You asked for it before launch and it still hasent happened, so why do you think it ever will.

 

I understand why you want it, and its all fine with me if it does get into the game, but the fact is that if BW was ever gonna put into the game, they would have done it from the beginning or at least spoken out clearly about it by now.

 

Do you mean all the other stuff that they have put, and are continuing to put, in the game? Good! We want all of that stuff too. We've never asked them not to put it in, nor have we ever said that SGRs have to come first. But we have known since early March that this would come with expanded story later this year, and all indications is that this will in fact happen with Makeb.

 

If it really is all fine by you, why are you at such pains to say it will never happen, and why are you so blind to everything that has ever been said to indicate that it will? Seriously, why come in here at all? But thanks for the bump.

Edited October 24, 2012 by Uluain

Any news?

 

No?

 

Okay!

 

At least respeccing will be free for subscribers in the F2P patch...my day is made!

At least respeccing will be free for subscribers in the F2P patch...my day is made!

 

Well that's something at least.

 

You know, I really feel like I've run out of steam for trying to get information from Bioware about SGRA's. It just doesn't feel worth it anymore I know that's exactly what they want, for us to give up and go away so they don't have to deal with the hassle of living up to their reputation and standards, but... motivation depleted. It's frankly depressing to be told "shut up, you're not worth the effort" for so long.

If someone cares to draw some fire, whether SGRs will be a pay-to-unlock feature could easily be construed as a question for the "Free-to-Play Questions? Ask them in this thread" thread on General Discussion. I would, but I don't see them answering those yet, either.

If someone cares to draw some fire, whether SGRs will be a pay-to-unlock feature could easily be construed as a question for the "Free-to-Play Questions? Ask them in this thread" thread on General Discussion. I would, but I don't see them answering those yet, either.

 

IDK...I could guess.

 

If SGRA content is retro-active, then it should probably be free for everyone since it's part of the lvl 1-50 story content.

 

If it's treated as additional story content that could be done at any level and post 50, then it's possible F2P people would have to pay to unlock it. I think that's how it will work with HK-51 (i.e., F2P people have to pay to unlock the area where you start the quests to get him). This would be free to subscribers, though.

 

I agree that I don't see them answering that one.

KumoOokami has asked already

 

Of course they did get a somewhat questionable response from another user.

KumoOokami has asked already

 

Well, that's one, anyway.

Well, that's one, anyway.

 

And then we post one after another? >.> Oh teh noes, we're leaving our hovel!

I just have a hard time not responding to people who snark on SGRs without any clue of what they are talking about.

 

Also, I really think that unless we take the opportunity to ask wherever we reasonably can, these questions will continue to be ignored.