And it's coming anyways, as promised. So we're going to continue to ask.

 

This content will not divide from other resources. There are different teams for different aspects of the game at any given point in time. That's why Gabe's statement was pretty vague; he works in the same office as them but doesn't work in the exact same department.

 

The money has already been spent, BW has already spent time back last winter dealing with the angry letters and general confusion. Unfortunately, it's been several months since there has been any information or addresses to the player base at large. As anyone that is a paying subscriber, we do have the right to ask for information on a feature promised to us back in September of 2011.

We wouldn't go into a thread that you post in for a feature and tell you that it doesn't matter if it got into the game because other things "are far more important, needed, and wanted." That's all subjective and not for any one player to decide, particularly when it comes to what players want.

 

In some ways, this is no different than talking about white color crystals or requesting Cartel Coin explanations.

 

SGRAs is a feature that we're asking for any information on. We are not asking fluff features, anymore than other players in the 1000 Papercuts thread. Some of those requests are frankly just fluff and are not central to the way a character story is played out.

 

Learning if central companions such as Kira or Mako (two examples of characters very tied into the story) are available fundamentally changes the way some people are going to level. Weather effects and such, while nice, do not effect a player's ability to level like SGRs can.

 

Same Gender Romance content has been promised and as well as reconfirmed even recently. It has not been scrapped and while the silence isn't golden, SGR isn't going away. So please, do some homework before you judge. Enjoy the game and please just ignore the thread if you think we're that silly. Also, I genuinely hope you get the F2P info you want and I hope you are happy with what they've said about it.

 

For some, this is as important. This may end up determining for whether or not a player keeps going after FTP. We won't come into your thread and tell you your ideas are unworthy, so have the same courtesy.

 

Edited October 27, 2012 by natashina

The Alderaan Bonus Series bug involving the NPC Jeren is STILL causing havoc and it has yet to be addressed, there are still a ton of class mechanic issues that have yet to be addressed, their are still performance and graphics issues that have yet to be addressed...

 

...but 1.5 is on Test.

 

The appearance is that more time and effort is being spent on F2P and more general new content than on bug squashing and bringing "promised" content to life.

 

To be honest, I don't expect these issues to be fixed. I imagine that the best metaphor for this game's direction is a boulder rolling down a mountain...even at the bottom, that boulder will keep rolling from momentum but it's eventually going to come to a stop.

Edited October 27, 2012 by Grayseven

If you have no faith in the developers or their word at all, then why are you still playing? It must be because you actually enjoy the game, and look forward to seeing new content. I hope you aren't one of those people that stick around forums just to troll players while your sub runs out. If you are not, then I apologize.

 

Sorry you'd had a rough experience with those bugs. I've had troubles as well with a few, but this isn't the thread for it.

Edited October 27, 2012 by natashina

If you have no faith in the developers or their word at all, then why are you still playing? It must be because you actually enjoy the game, and look forward to seeing new content. I hope you aren't one of those people that stick around forums just to troll players while your sub runs out. If you are not, then I apologize.

 

Sorry you'd had a rough experience with those bugs. I've had troubles as well with a few, but this isn't the thread for it.

 

I do enjoy playing the game. Unfortunately, I also see that the current "work of the developers" is not making the game better but is instead driving away players bit by bit.

 

The core to my statement is that you can not expect the Dev team to add this feature when they can't even be bothered to fix bugs that have existed for almost a year. This feature was discussed not long after launch and there are Dev statements to the effect of "we're going to do it". Of course, they were also going to fix the bugs and class mechanics as well...

 

In short, I wouldn't hold your breath while waiting for this considering the staff reductions, the focus on F2P and the inability to remove even minor bugs.

Edited October 27, 2012 by Grayseven

The Alderaan Bonus Series bug involving the NPC Jeren is STILL causing havoc and it has yet to be addressed, there are still a ton of class mechanic issues that have yet to be addressed, their are still performance and graphics issues that have yet to be addressed...

 

...but 1.5 is on Test.

 

The appearance is that more time and effort is being spent on F2P and more general new content than on bug squashing and bringing "promised" content to life.

 

To be honest, I don't expect these issues to be fixed. I imagine that the best metaphor for this game's direction is a boulder rolling down a mountain...even at the bottom, that boulder will keep rolling from momentum but it's eventually going to come to a stop.

 

I think the key word there is "appearance". I also think you unfairly overlook some pretty big problems that have been addressed and fixed, as well as underrating their efforts to continue to address bugs and glitches.

 

In any case, writers don't do that. Animators don't do that. Voice actors don't do that. You are talking about an entirely separate end of the studio than handles creating new story content. The mechanisms for cutscenes and conversations aren't where the bugs are – at least not many, and many graphical glitches (like "tiny Satele" on Tython) have been fixed.

 

So again, I don't see how this applies to a discussion of story content, where the mechanics are pretty well established and new conversations are probably the content least likely to unpredictably introduce new bugs to the game.

Edited October 27, 2012 by Uluain

I think the key word there is "appearance". I also think you unfairly overlook some pretty big problems that have been addressed and fixed, as well as underrating their efforts to continue to address bugs and glitches.

 

In any case, writers don't do that. Animators don't do that. Voice actors don't do that. You are talking about an entirely separate end of the studio than handles creating new story content. The mechanisms for cutscenes and conversations aren't where the bugs are – at least not many, and many graphical glitches (like "tiny Satele" on Tython) have been fixed.

 

So again, I don't see how this applies to a discussion of story content, where the mechanics are pretty well established and new conversations are probably the content least likely to unpredictably introduce new bugs to the game.

 

One word: Money. Everything being done takes time and money. While they may have the people available to do it, they may not have the funding. Everything is budgeted. Everything. And since it's towards the end of the fiscal year for corporations and the current market is...rough...many companies institute "austerity measures" where every last expenditure is scrutinized with an eye towards cost and benefit.

 

If you look at the entire game overall, you quickly realize why something that may only be of interest to a tenth of the games population may have been "back-burnered".

 

All I am saying is don't be surprised if you don't hear anything about this considering everything else going on. The evidence speaks quite clearly.

Just wanted to say again, The money was spent months and months ago, long before any problems with ToR or with BioWare-Austin. If they scrapped it now, it would have wasted all the time and energy.

 

Plus, it was said by Gabe that SGRs appear to be done, just needed to be on the release schedule.

 

They need to come out and tell the player base very bluntly that this is coming in. I can understand why people are feeling down towards EA/BW, absolutely. I'm certainly not a zealous fan of either company and I do have mixed thoughts about EA in general. However, I have noticed that if something gets scrapped and put on the backburner, they let the player base know (like Illum.)

 

Several posters of the SGRA thread have been in contact with members of the Community Management Team. We've also been in contact with Hall Hood as well. Shoot, check my signature. That has the information for just about every way to contact community personnel such as Joveth Gonzales, Allicia Berryman and others. This includes snail mail, Twitter and email.

 

We've asked all of them if SGRs have been scrapped, and if it is still coming in. They have not been scrapped, they are still coming in. There have been responses from mods as recently as a week ago. What is needed is details that the mods are allowed to share with us. For now, they don't appear to be allowed to share anything.

 

They said it was coming with the story update, this year. All signs of that story update point to Makeb and to mid December(ish.) In the meantime, we'll keep asking about details about SGRs, and will continue to do so as long as it feels worthwhile. I know you don't think it is, which is all good. I'm also glad there are people that feel this way. Maybe BW will start to get the message that the community at large really needs to hear from them directly.

Edited October 27, 2012 by natashina

Believe me, it has nothing to do with being against anything and I have to applaud the perseverance of the community when it comes to keeping the Dev team accountable for their statements.

 

What I am seeing, however, is a distinct trend towards...call it "penny-pinching" though that is overly simplifying it. And while money may have already been spent, implementation still requires money which may or may not be available at this juncture.

 

The only way to ensure implementation of new features is to increase income. The catch 22 of this is that new features often increase income. The bean counters have to balance all factors when it comes to deciding where to spend money.

 

I have no doubt that EA will stick to their word and implement SSR but I don't expect it soon. If anything, I'd expect to see it after F2P is live and I'd expect to see the announcement of the feature to coincide with the F2P start in an effort to entice more players into the game.

 

This is, of course, entirely speculative on my part. While I have much experience with MMO's I have very little experience with EA outside of this game. I could be (and have been before) entirely wrong about the reasons why little bugs aren't being squashed and why the SSR feature hasn't been implemented, but in my mind the reasoning behind all of the actions of EA concerning this game boil down to tough business decisions being made on a daily basis.

I agree with you there, though I think the bugs are only a small part of it. I honestly think BW wanted about another year, but EA told them that 6 years was long enough and they wanted it out by around Christmas. If they keep on track with their release schedule, we should see SGRs after FTP goes live next month. I strongly suspect Makeb will be 1.6 and out around the first anniversary of launch. That's the patch I believe at this point will contain SGRs.

 

We don't want this in right away, we just want some more information less muddy. As in the case with both Hall Hood and PvP Czar Gabe. We have some glints here and there, but do they need to be clarified.

 

I honestly think that people datamining Makeb and starting the rumor mill will be what it takes for BW to say much of anything on the matter. A small leak regarding Chapter 4 was very quickly removed.

 

In the meantime, we're gonna try to keep this more out in the open. Whether player are for or against SGRs, everyone should know of BW's intent. I also feel everyone should know if all classes get one, if we should level (since some companions are very key to the story,) and how it'll be done.

Edited October 27, 2012 by natashina

I don't see why we shouldn't. For one, new players don't find it there. We have people come in there totally surprised to find that there has been a thread running since January.

 

For another, seeing new threads posted by players who have not been a part of that discussion demonstrates to the design team ongoing and continuous interest in same-gender content.

 

Also, how many threads are started on paid transfers, or chat bubbles, or the secret space project, or hood toggles that are not locked down and redirected? Why should the discussion of same-gender content be treated differently? That is a sincere question.

 

I have had a thread up these past couple of weeks attempting to confirm a statement by PvP Czar Gabe Amatangelo that he thought same-gender romance would be coming with other new story content in the future content patch which will feature the new planet, Makeb. Lead Writer Hall Hood tentatively confirmed that but then pulled his confirming statement without comment.

 

That is the only hint we have had regarding this content at all since last March. Given that it was initially announced in September, 2011, I don't think it is unreasonable to request an update.

 

Given that other anticipated pending content enjoys discussion in multiple threads on General, not in secluded sub-forums, I don't see why this thread would be out of place and out of line.

 

Edit – *that thread has run continuously since January 17th. It has been re-made six times by the Community Support team when it grows overly long in any one version. In total, it has had over 7,500 posts and over 500,000 views. Oh, and one non-informative BW reply. I think we can be excused branching out a bit, if that is the response we get for staying in our ghetto.

 

yawn + yawn = zzzzz

 

Truth is, the pre-launch thread was much more entertaining. It's the same ridiculously small (to their credit, adamant and vocal) percentage of forum users trying to project their opinions on the rest of the playerbase that makes this non-issue look "important". However, misusing words like "ghetto" as if it applies to this circumstance is actually more insulting than what it is that you are complaining about.

 

Just so you know, you haven't been rounded up and summarily executed. Your property hasn't been seized and you haven't been ostracized. You aren't in a ghetto... this is only a video game. Noone is re-educating you or your family.

So please, stop the over-dramatization of the motives behind the lack of inclusion of abcdlmnop relationships... it's just bad fiction at this point.

Edited October 27, 2012 by mokkh

yawn + yawn = zzzzz

 

Truth is, the pre-launch thread was much more entertaining. It's the same ridiculously small (to their credit, adamant and vocal) percentage of forum users trying to project their opinions on the rest of the playerbase that makes this non-issue look "important". However, misusing words like "ghetto" as if it applies to this circumstance is actually more insulting than what it is that you are complaining about.

 

Just so you know, you haven't been rounded up and summarily executed. Your property hasn't been seized and you haven't been ostracized. You aren't in a ghetto... this is only a video game. Noone is re-educating you or your family.

So please, stop the over-dramatization of the motives behind the inclusion of abcdlmnop relationships... it's just bad fiction at this point.

 

What? Did you misquote or misread or something?

Edited October 27, 2012 by odericko

What? Did you misquote or something?

 

If you read what I quoted... no.

If you read what I quoted... no.

 

I did. Hence the question. Oh well.

I know what the poster is referring to. Ghetto may have been a very extreme term (I wouldn't have used it,) but it does sum up how some people are feeling about this.

 

I know my WW2 history, so I do know what an original ghetto was. But ty for the link.

 

It does seem rather ostracizing that threads on this subject get closed and sent to the Story and Lore forum. A lot of new players start here in the General Forums for information. Even the OP of this thread had no idea that there was a thread going back to January 17th on the subject. So multiple threads get capped and shunted of to another part of the forums entirely, leaving the General Forums quiet.

 

Meanwhile, mulitple threads about things such as hood toggles, Cartel Coin information, speculation about Cathars and F2P are not closed and locked down into a giant thread, like SGRs are. After a point, people start to wonder if BW doesn't want to intentionally keep it off the General Forums due to the nature of it. And that is not okay.

 

Why should SGRs be different than other frequently requested topics?

Edited October 27, 2012 by natashina

I remember reading that BW wanted to add new companions for SGR options so that people wouldn't be locked out of them if they had already done their companion storyline.

 

Why not just add a 2nd version of the companion storyline with SGR?

 

My rationale for this is simple: rather than adding as many as 2 new companions per class - which is overkill with ship droid and HK-51- BW could simply add SGR as convos to existing companions. These wouldn't replace or invalidate existing ones, merely be modifications of existing romances.

 

Example: The male SI and Revel would talk again only this time with the female romance responses incorporated into the conversation. By merging the two conversations you wouldn't even really have to write new dialogue, just have the voice actors do some more work.

From what we can tell, it's going to be with some current companions. Personally, I'd prefer it with current companions since I already feel like I "know" some of them.

 

This is why a clear status update is needed from BioWare on this subject and why it's more than fair that this thread stay on the General Forum. Far more players seem to frequent the General Forum vs any sub forum, so this is why this is here now. Some of their statements regarding SGRs over the months have sounded a little contradictory as far as with new or current companions.

 

An official statement to the player base is more than merited at this point.

Edited October 27, 2012 by natashina

I figure a pretty effective way to deal with SGR on already existing characters is just to add the conversations at the end of the storyline - you still have the chance, it doesn't have to be crammed in their story somewhere, just hey, now that everything's settled.... Yeah, it sucks having to wait all that time compared to new characters who will have the option built in from the start, but it's kind of understandable (aside from not doing it to begin with, that is, but eh). Edited October 27, 2012 by spookysage

The dialog and the VA is already done. Otherwise, I don't think we would have been told even in passing by the lead PvP dev that it was done and it was just waiting to get onto the schedule. He said probably with Makeb, but he doesn't work in their department so he wasn't 100% sure.

 

There needs to be a solid confirmation. However, it's great seeing so many people who are both for and against this option come out and talk about this subject. It shows BW and especially EA that there is more curiosity and questions about this subject from more players than they may have thought.

I'm wondering, maybe they're afraid they can't replicate the same voice tones so that new recordings seamlessly fit into old conversations. I mean, I would assume they have technology to adjust pitch with and such, but I'm just thinking that they're afraid it will still feel disjointed. It's one thing to use the same actors in all-new conversations because it's at least self-consistent.

The VAs signed a contract from BioWare/EA when they first started voicing in the game. I'm certain that they knew SGRs were going to be involved and were ready to record the dialog that was requested. I'd say, for example, it was right there in Laura Bailey's (Kira's) contract that she would be the only voice actress to play Kira. I wouldn't dare say how long, but I do know that animation and writing the dialog takes up the majority of time like that. Doing VA, while certainly difficult, is a much quicker process.

 

Also, I know BW has had some top notch story telling and voice acting for many moons now. I don't expect that to change, so I think all the current companions will have the same VA for SGRs as they do now with the same quality.

Edited October 27, 2012 by natashina

Yeah I was aware that they have the main actors on contract (though I though only the actual class story actors were officially locked in). I had been talking about there being variance even when the same actor does the voice a year later. Perhaps I'm wrong about that though.

 

I hadn't considered the idea that the voices have already been recorded and that they're just sitting on them until the rest of the content catches up. It's heartening anyway!

Glad I could help cheer you up!

 

Slightly off-topic, but the VA James Arnold Taylor has some great videos showcasing his work and giving little insights to what its like to be a voice actor. It can be boring in parts apparently, but it doesn't take as much time.

 

I'm willing to bet in the case of ToR they've been doing scenes here and there for months, as the writers get them finished. The animation strikes me as much trickier and probably one of the last things they are polishing before SGRs come out. I'd guess things along the lines of clipping issues and such are getting worked on even as we speak.

 

I don't need to know that many details on the inner workings of this process, but it would be nice to say the words, "I guess," a little less often.

Edited October 27, 2012 by natashina

^ The "Art of" book for this game offers some insight. http://www.amazon.com/Art-Making-Star-Wars-Republic/dp/0811875008

Obviously it doesn't focus as much on the voice and story aspect, but it does offer some info abou how the cutscenes are made.

What I found most interesting is they actually have an algorithm that automatically sets camera angles and decides when to cut from character to character most intelligently. The devs just go in and clean up the occasional parts that don't make sense. I'm also pretty sure that it auto-chooses gestures and eye movements as well! (I would consult that part but I don't have the book with me now).

 

You'd think that means that the animation/staging side of things wouldn't take too long, but I'm sure there are other things to consider, too.

Edited October 27, 2012 by Stenrik

This thread is an example of a very small group of people who are very loud All this nonsense is about getting two people of the same sex semi kissing and fade to black. So much other things that would make this game better for a ton more folk.

^ The "Art of" book for this game offers some insight. http://www.amazon.com/Art-Making-Star-Wars-Republic/dp/0811875008

Obviously it doesn't focus as much on the voice and story aspect, but it does offer some info abou how the cutscenes are made.

What I found most interesting is they actually have an algorithm that automatically sets camera angles and decides when to cut from character to character most intelligently. The devs just go in and clean up the occasional parts that don't make sense. I'm also pretty sure that it auto-chooses gestures and eye movements as well! (I would consult that part but I don't have the book with me now).

 

You'd think that means that the animation/staging side of things wouldn't take too long, but I'm sure there are other things to consider, too.

 

Yeah, that's my understanding, a whole lot of it is automated. Which is amazing. Occasionally they miss some bad ones, as I've encountered some of those hehe. I'm sure there are things that get adjusted after the fact. There are some scenes in important class moments which seem far too complex and well designed to have been completely left to a computer to decide. And others that are lazy and crappy.

 

One thing that might be a problem with the VAs is that any time they want voice acting that everyone will take part in, they're going to need to get those lines from all 16 voice actors. If it's not planned far in advance, if there was just one actor that was completely unavailable for a period of time, they'd be screwed for all of it. I kind of wonder if that's why the Chevin event didn't have any voice acting. Or maybe they were just being lazy.

 

But anyway, I don't think the VAs have anything to do with the lack of SGR's atm. Considering that they said "it's coming when full story comes"....so probably, as most people have guessed from the little bits of info here and there, in Makeb. If it's not, then I'd say someone decided to pull the plug on it.