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Star Wars: The Old Republic – State of the Game


CourtneyWoods

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This sort of thing is nothing new, but how can they claim they are going to improve the game when they post stuff like this....

 

When we decided to go Free-to-Play earlier this year, we had weeks of discussion with everyone on the team about where we thought the game was going, what we thought was going right and what was going wrong. We uncovered a lot of issues, but three things really stood out:

 

1. Our game is awesome. People love it and want to play it.

 

2. The subscription requirement was driving away huge numbers of people who do not want to commit to paying monthly.

 

3. The frequency of our Game Updates was way too slow. People were leaving because we were not releasing new content fast enough to keep up with the pace at which it was being consumed.

 

1. If the game was so awesome why did it bleed so many subs?

2 & 3. The subscription was not driving people away it was #3 which made the sub not worth it to some. And obvious other issues.

 

And then to follow that up with.

 

But we know there is more we can do, more you want us to do. So today, I thought it might be more useful to dive into some more granular and “hot” topics.

 

Topic #1: Staff: Why are some developers leaving The Old Republic™? How will the game be affected?

 

 

Answer: People leave for a lot of reasons. Some have worked on the project for 6+ years and are simply tired and want to go work on something else. Others may not agree with the direction that the game is heading – Free-to-Play is not for everyone and requires a big shift in thinking and culture within the studio. Still others do not have the right skills for the roles that we have as the studio evolves and changes. When any single person leaves, whether we make the decision or they do, it is difficult, but the studio and game live on and thrive as we change, actually thrive because we change. The core of what makes the game and studio great are still here; quality in our game and in our workplace, people that are passionate about both, a camaraderie with each other that helps us support one another, and key people like James Ohlen (who was at BioWare from the very start) who continue to help us carry the banner of BioWare and who are dedicated to help evolve and improve Star Wars: The Old Republic.

 

Topic #2: Bugs: How does testing work? Why do bugs get through? Why did Game Update 1.4 have so many of them? What are we doing to improve the process?

 

Answer: MMOs are undoubtedly one of the most complex games on Earth. We employ hundreds of QA professionals to ensure that our game is high quality, but sometimes bugs get through. We test every step of the way as we develop the game or change to the game. We have many, many development environments that work in a sequence to push updates from initial construction, to code and content integration, to internal end-to-end testing, to player facing testing on Public Test Servers and then on to the Live servers. Sometimes (like in Game Update 1.4) we make changes that have unintended (and undiscovered) consequences on completely different parts of the game (the performance issues that showed up in the update are a great example of this). These unintended changes happen more often than you would think (or we would like), though we usually catch them before they go live. We have recently put new measures in place both on the development teams and in QA, as well on Public Test Server (where we should find many of these types of issues), to catch things like this in the future. I am not saying it will not happen again – bugs will always happen – but we will strive to give you the best, high quality, bug-free experience that we can. As a side note, we finally got a lock on the last of the major issues from Game Update 1.4 and appreciate your patience with that one

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Topic #3: Oceanic populations. Are we doing anything about them?

 

Answer: We are very aware of the concerns with the population levels on the Oceanic servers. The problem is pretty complex, as the solutions we have either split the populations further (like allowing Oceanic players to move to North American servers), or would force players to go to server types (PvP or RP, etc…) that they do not want to be on. Our current plan is to wait for Free-to-Play to launch and see what the influx of new players does to the populations of these servers. We will give it a little time and if we do not see significant improvement, then we will move ahead with the solution that offers the best playing experience for the Oceanic community.

 

Really?? those are HOT issues? Do they even read the forums?

Edited by Pvtcarnage
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Really?? those are HOT issues? Do they even read the forums?

 

Obviously not. They're too busy telling themselves the sub was the reason people left...they completely ignore the state of PvP, 4 measly Ops that have a week long lockout, guilds being meaningless and things as basic as forced name changes. These things all add up.

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And yet again you ignore the biggest topic on peoples minds, PvP. How this wasn't top of your list of reasons you went FTP is beyond me. Everyone I know who has quit, quit over PvP after the balance changes in 1.2. Everyone I know who would like to come back but won't, won't because PvP is still a big mess from 1.2. You should change that top point to read;

 

1. Our PvP was awesome. Now people hate it and don't want to play it.

 

You've even admitted it yourselves, you had no idea PvP was going to be so popular, so why are you not doing more about it? There are millions of avid PvP'ers out there and SWTOR could be a real home, but it will never be a home to those players if you keep on ignoring your existing ones. Serious changes need to be made to make PvP a hospitable environment again, which means you need to start seriously listening to your player-base.

 

Stop ignoring your PvP community, it's beyond a joke now. I can't even begin to describe how little respect I have for you as a games company after the way you've treated the PvP community, it's disgusting, it really is. If serious changes aren't made when FTP hits, I'm out of here, and I won't be the only one I can assure you. And that's not even counting all the potential FTP customers PvP will put off right from the get go given the state it's in now.

 

Ignoring the problem won't make it go away, it will however have serious repercussions for the game, like it already has...

 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

You hit it right their. Just like many other MMO's the pvp comunity is looked down on like we don't exist compared to everyone else and we get ignored. The guild I had played with for yrs has quit ( over a hundred payed subscription members) and now only a cple of us left and it is becouse PVP is seriously hurting. Lots of great suggestions in the forums for fixing and brining back world pvp but we here nothing.

 

So please Devs, let us know you hear us so we don't feel ignored and wake up cuz its not the paying that drove them away, its the fact that you abandoned us and fail to aknowledge us and the truth. its like you hear only what you want to hear and not the people like you need to because we play the game. loose us and loose your job. I understand their is a lot to read in the forums but the majority on this thread is telling you PVP needs a proper fix. get it right and you may get those who quit back.

 

oh yea, i wish they would invent some kind of special server , just for PVPers

 

and special maps too, just for their use

 

please do feel free to tweak game mechanics to please them too,,even on PVE servers

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Real issues in this game are support and some of the management team due to the decisions that have been made. In game support item guys need to relax a little more and stop being so selfish with not helping players redeem lost items or loot they never received.

 

So the biggest turn off for me was support it's very poor grade and I know lots more people got sick of it and left.

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oh yea, i wish they would invent some kind of special server , just for PVPers

 

and special maps too, just for their use

 

please do feel free to tweak game mechanics to please them too,,even on PVE servers

 

Admitted by BW that 50% of the population plays PvP regularly. So yeah think they do need to put some money there.

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I would like to see the info concrete info on the Secret Space Project. I want to do high speed runs through canyons on tatooine then head into the clouds to join into a battle in orbit of Ord Mantel. Then receive an emergency comunicae (from guildies) that the sith guilds have attacked the tython orbital defence network and the jedi temple is at risk. So I speed away to the home of the Jedi. Once I arrive I see debris everywhere tumbling in space.

 

I sneak through the debris field trying not to be discovered and then am attacked by 3 sith starfighters.

My guild members say to me keep them busy we will return soon to ambush them. Sooo I speed to the far side of the planet and then duck into the atmosphere and kill one enemy because he couldn't maneuver through the dense atmosphere. See my ship had been upgraded to survive fast re-entry his was not so he burned up. How ever the other 2 managed to chase me all the way to the deck. we are speeding across the river bed and I see on my radar that my guild is lying in wait past the next bend of the river so I know im ok.

 

When I pass the next bend my guilds ground troops launch 2 shoulder fired rockets at the sith and they are destroyed. I then join the medical and salvage ships in orbit looking for survivors and take them to the fleet for medical services.....

 

Can SWTOR make something like that happen?

Edited by ZORG
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But we know there is more we can do, more you want us to do. So today, I thought it might be more useful to dive into some more granular and “hot” topics.

 

Topic #3: Oceanic populations. Are we doing anything about them?

 

Answer: We are very aware of the concerns with the population levels on the Oceanic servers. The problem is pretty complex, as the solutions we have either split the populations further (like allowing Oceanic players to move to North American servers), or would force players to go to server types (PvP or RP, etc…) that they do not want to be on. Our current plan is to wait for Free-to-Play to launch and see what the influx of new players does to the populations of these servers. We will give it a little time and if we do not see significant improvement, then we will move ahead with the solution that offers the best playing experience for the Oceanic community.

 

Really?? those are HOT issues? Do they even read the forums?

 

on topic 3, they did indeed pay attention to the forums. they just aren't doing anything about it. Instead, they sit on their comfy chairs and play with themselves. (not true but I wanted to rage a bit)

On a beeter note, the Gav Daragon server is pulling together to help others, and to help our server stay alive as long as possible.

Edited by Jarlgon
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Admitted by BW that 50% of the population plays PvP regularly. So yeah think they do need to put some money there.

 

Ya, and again BW misses the point. The reason so many people do PVP is because there's literally nothing else to do. It's PVP, grind an alt, or do your once/bi weekly raid. So of course people will opt to do PVP for a while, especially considering how much of a grind it is at 50 to get any gear, so those who want to hope to be competitive will have to grind for a full BM/WH set to stand a chance in PVP.

 

I'm betting the people aren't as interested in PVP as BW thinks, and probably a good chunk of the ones who left weren't the PVP crowd either.

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Ya, and again BW misses the point. The reason so many people do PVP is because there's literally nothing else to do. It's PVP, grind an alt, or do your once/bi weekly raid. So of course people will opt to do PVP for a while, especially considering how much of a grind it is at 50 to get any gear, so those who want to hope to be competitive will have to grind for a full BM/WH set to stand a chance in PVP.

 

I'm betting the people aren't as interested in PVP as BW thinks, and probably a good chunk of the ones who left weren't the PVP crowd either.

 

Indeed, I PvP purely to get gear after hitting 50. Recruit gear is easy to get and is better than Tionese (from what I've seen) and Battlemaster is a faster grind by weeks than Columi gear.

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Hello everyone,

 

Please discuss the Star Wars: The Old Republic – State of the Game blog in this thread!

 

Wow! Thanks for this amazing post and insight into the questions that have been stirring for quite some time. As an avid supporter of SWTOR, (Been subbed since day 1) I support any action that will increase the community and more quality for the game. I am very understanding that this game is still rather in it's infancy ( not even a year since full retail release.) and these things take time. I hope to see this game continue to thrive and prosper especially after F2P. Please keep these post coming!

 

As for a question, new planets? Races? Classes? and/or level cap raise?

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Apologies if this comes across badly, its a genuine thing I would like to see and think would benefit the game and the players more than anything else you could do.

 

Given that there is still a very large development team working on the game and (I think you said) a couple of hundred QA testers why don't you task your developers to set aside an hour a week each to engage in a bit of two-way dialogue regarding whatever they are working on at the time?

 

Communication seems to be where the SWTOR team is weakest (not aimed at the forum team who do the best they can with what they are given) and in other games where two-way dialogue occurs with some regularity the level of goodwill generated seems to skyrocket.

 

This seems to be a relatively low cost way of getting lots of bang for your buck on the goodwill front, just talk to the players who are keenest to engage you in discussion.

 

However many millions you might spend on advertising and marketing executives who tell you at what pace to release information and in what sized chunks, it wont come close to the marketing goodwill you can generate here on the forums.

 

I appreciate that the forum go-ers represent a relatively small portion of your player base but when outside agencies, gaming magazines etc want to check how players are receiving changes to the game and take the pulse of the players happiness they do it by coming to the forums.

 

just my tuppence worth...

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The subscription requirement was driving away huge numbers of people who do not want to commit to paying monthly.

 

Now you see... there is a big difference between not having 15$ and not wanting to have 15$.

 

http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/10/25/turbine-going-through-layoffs-today/

Your beloved F2P is not a guaranteed recipe, if you don`t have the right product.

Edited by Styxx
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2. The subscription requirement was driving away huge numbers of people who do not want to commit to paying monthly.

 

You're completely misinterpreting why so many people have left the game, Jeff. People aren't going to return simply because it's going F2P. Those who left are not saying that they can't afford $15/month. They're saying the game isn't worth playing, and that won't change when it's free.

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Now now that's a bit blunt Cel :jawa_wink: !

 

Well, just being honest, heh. Even if an experience that grandiose was possible, a game would have to be designed around that concept from the ground up. SW:TOR is not that type of game, for better or worse. Personally, I enjoy the narratives as presented. That's what has kept me here. Would I enjoy incredibly open worlds with barrier-free exploration, the ability to have atmospheric flight, etc., etc.? Of course, but that's just not a possibility unless production on all content halts for two years or so for BioWare to implement such a system, as it is tantamount to creating an entirely new game - the framework for such content simply doesn't exist here.

Edited by CelCawdro
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Let me say a few more things before I cancel my subscription next week. PvP is an intricate part of the game; you can enter Warzones from anywhere, PvP your entire way to 50 from level 10 if you wish. The bolster system even today provides a very compelling gameplay experience from 10-49. So why, when you know just how intrinsic PvP is to the game, do you keep on ignoring your community and the glaring issues at level 50? I don't think you realise just how important it is for you to appease the PvP community. You can throw your time and resources at PVE all you want, but until you fix PvP this game will remain a shell of its former self and you will not entice PvP’ers to resubscribe.

 

You are fools if you believe the PvP changes at 1.2 were not a major contributing factor to the game going FTP. I honestly don't think you see just how important PvP was/still is to people, and just how badly you butchered with 1.2. The signs were everywhere, they are everywhere, yet somehow they have been lost in a pile of bureaucratic BS and the game has lost hundreds of thousands of subscribers as a result.

 

Who are you trying to kid, yourselves? Since when has a game developer that so blatantly ignores such an important part of its community worked out for a game? It strikes me that you would only ignore such an important part of your community, if you believe them not to be important at all in the grand scheme of things... How very wrong you are. There are more intelligent people than I who have tried to convince you, yet you still fail to see what is right in front of your eyes.

 

I'll close with this, level 50 PvP pre 1.2 was the most compelling PvP I have ever experienced in an MMO. And I wasn't the only one who thought so, websites and reviews everywhere were praising just how balanced PvP felt. Everyone knew it wasn't perfect, but it was the general consensus that you had brought one of the most balanced and enjoyable PvP experiences to an MMO and your PvP community on the whole loved you for it. Yet despite all this, you changed the balance of PvP entirely with 1.2 and even though it caused one of the biggest backlashes I have ever witnessed from a community, you STILL fail to see just how important PvP is to people and thus for the game.

*edit* and just to clarify, I'm not talking about the crappy bag system, I'm talking about the gameplay.

 

I'm done with this game and the current team behind PvP. If for whatever reason it suddenly “clicks” and you hire someone who gets it to turn PvP around, I’ll be back, although I have a feeling we’ll all be waiting a very long time as you can’t fix something if you cannot see that it is utterly broken and turning people away from the game in the first place.

Edited by Sweeet
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concerning some upcoming updates, one concern is cartel coins, are deeper pockets going to be able purchase their way the to best, items. when most had to work for it.

 

The answer to that has been given time and again. How many times must it be asked? If you dont want to believe the answer then dont.

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Regarding Topic #2: Bugs

 

I think most people understand that new bugs may crop up when a new update is released, and hopefully they get fixed within a few days or a week. What bothers me are the bugs that have always been in the game since the day the game was released: things like NPC conversations playing loudly after you move out of earshot of the conversation, companion UI disappearing after a story cut scene, companions wigging out and/or running away when you try to use a lift, clipping issues on character armor, etc. There are plenty of bugs like this that have been in the game forever. Most of these old bugs are not critical, but they are still bugs and for them to have lasted this long implies that Bioware simply doesn't care enough to be bothered to fix them. I think most of us have just gotten used to them by now, but they are still BUGS and they contribute to an overall "unpolished" feel to the game.

Edited by Arodin
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Its about time you did a "State of the Game" post. It only took you almost a year. That being said, it was pretty lackluster. Most state of the game posts tell people about the near future of the game and how far along they are working on certain features/content.

 

We already know you are going F2P. We already know why you are going F2P. If you need to restate it then atleast be honest about it. People did not quit because of a 15 dollar barrier. People quit because they didnt feel your game was worth 15 bucks. There is a huge difference there.

 

I was excited to see you made one of these but now I am even more depressed. You have finally taken this time to talk to us, only to show us that you have some tattoos and tell us how you were the head guy in charge of MMOs that have failed miserably once you took over.

 

QFT. Amen.

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Which reminds me...

 

Now, with the F2P and the "new and improved" throwing away any "immersion", like invisible armor, pink sabers and flying thrones... since the famous "if you can`t see Leia romancing it, then it won`t get in" no longer applies...

 

WHEN will we see jawas and wookiees and droids and rodians and any SW race, as PLAYABLE?

 

And no, the excuse of "you cannot identify yourself with the race or NPC`s will have a morality issue" no longer flies, because they apparently can live with half naked individuals, sporting pink sabers and flying with their toilet se... throne around.

 

Can we get some update on the above "State of the Game", in regards to races?

Edited by Styxx
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I'm done with this game and the current team behind PvP. If for whatever reason it suddenly “clicks” and you hire someone who gets it to turn PvP around, I’ll be back, although I have a feeling we’ll all be waiting a very long time as you can’t fix something if you cannot see that it is utterly broken and turning people away from the game in the first place.

 

I may be as well.

 

On Halloween I went to a costume party and met a fellow gamer girl, who was dressed in a gears of war costume she'd made from scratch. My own experience is so Bioware-centric that I thought she was going for Shepard (despite the lack of an N-7 logo), and she was amazed I'd heard of Mass Effect at all. These times when I meet someone in real life who is as passionate about my hobby as I am are rare, and we had a good chat.

 

ANYWAY... she's never played ToR. For one, she only has a Macintosh, and for another, she loves PvP. Did I know, she asked, that Mass Effect keeps releasing new pvp maps? For free? She shook her head ruefully. Me, I had another drink.

 

No, I didn't know that, but honestly, as someone who's been hitting her head against the wall playing the same three (now four) warzones in ToR since early beta, that was kind of depressing to hear. It's not that HARD to make new PvP content. I played Warhammer and even as a game with half your subscription base they STILL managed to put in new warzones for special events, mix and max the ones available, and tweak their castle sieges. Hey... didn't you work on that too, Mr. Hickman?

 

So what's wrong? Why is it so difficult to make some new pvp maps in ToR? Are you worried about balance and testing? That is why many games use a... test server. I think you even have one! You could use it!

 

Do you lack the resources to make new content? Recycle some flashpoints! Or points on the map. Revisit some areas where a previous story happened... flesh it out, give us an epilogue, whatever. It doesn't have to be complicated.

 

Here is a real question for the development team: why can't you put in some new maps for pvp?

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Honestly, i don't wanted to comment, but ok:

 

1. PVP. That's simple - more WZ, more game modes. Take a look at rift. It isn't shines, but released before SWTOR and still not F2P. Persnoally I, nd few friends, that leaved ToR alrdy agree with me - why not to do something with wz? use RIFT expirience - for weekend change one wz's rules, allow users playin it achieve more points, that's rly simple, and won't take as much resourses as makin new one.

Also, u could use GW2 expirience - all of their pvp maps are domination (like Alderaan or denova) but all with different rules. And Developers said before release - they experimented a lot with other game modes, but found domination most exiciting. Keep on working in that way. And all my friends (not me, while playing gunslinger) enjoyed Huttball a lot, founding it ost exciting warone#scenary#battleground ever.

 

2.PVE. Ok, pandas here - so it's time to steal something )) Challenging mode (with gear and time restriction and rankings) will be nice. And still - u have a lot low lvl FPs, why making new ones when u have old ones? Make heroic modes! I liked hammerstation a lot since beta. And 1 more thing, i enjoyed a lot since beta and low lvl FPs... crew skill challenges - it was awesome idea, where it is now? =(

 

And for things in general... I have quit the game in may and returned few weeks ago. And only now, i see most (not all) promises from betafound it's way. Finally i can pick any orange gear i like, and wear it, making it BiS item by adding augumented slot, and that's wasn't possilbe since release, but u promised something about it. But still, i can't wear gear i like. I like a lot how some lowlvl green gear looks, but wearing it on 50 lvl char? No way. Ye, let's look at GW2 again - color unify? Screw it, u can apply any colour u have found#bought to any part of piece of equipment.

 

That's all. Sry for my english :p

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