Well, what disturbs me most are the constant thread closures and redirects to this thread with admonishments to post here. Posting here has gotten us jack all, so far. Why should we feel that it is at all effective? What good is it to say "we do read that thread frequently" when nothing has ever, in over ten months, come of it?

In the email exchange which resulted in the only Staff reply this thread has seen to date (which was apologetically noninformative), Joveth explained the redirects thus:

We know that same gender romance arcs are an important topic for folks, so we try to direct all conversations about it to one thread in order for us to be able to keep an eye on it and moderate it as needed using our limited resources. We know that SGRA can be a sensitive topic, so we make sure to action any community members that violate our forum policies via hate speech and the like. Keep in mind that we consolidate and redirect ANY threads that are redundant or talk about the same topic, as it is a forum-wide policy of ours.

Well, the first part of this is as I had inferred, but it was also the first occasion on which anyone had ever bothered to explain the reason for the redirects. What we had been told previously is what is said following, that closing redundant threads "is a forum-wide policy".

That last bit is, in a word, bullsh*t. Oh, it may be policy, but it is policy selectively enforced. Go up to the search window and enter "Hood Toggle", or "Chat Bubbles" or "Paid Transfers" – all features promised vaguely as content to come some day. How many threads are there? How many are locked?

To be fair, let us consider the point Joveth raises regarding "limited resources" - i.e. only so many available moderators, with only so much time to devote to the task.

Which would make more work? Keeping up with hostile posts over multiple threads addressing same-gender content, or closing and redirecting each and every redundant thread on any topic whatsoever? I would personally suppose the latter. The former case would in time become self-correcting as those most prone to post hateful remarks are infracted for their recurring offenses to the point that their posting privileges are revoked.

The Community Team seems to have chosen neither. What we see in practice is a compromise intended to make best use of an inadequate staff: application of a nominally universal closure policy of redundant threads to this topic especially (if anyone knows of any other topic policed in the same thorough fashion, I'd love to hear what it is) with redirects to a single thread in a marginal subforum to assure decreased traffic and thus, presumably, fewer disruptive posts.

I am rambling here, and in immanent danger of bringing up names like Kant and Kierkegaard, so I'll leave it at that for others to reflect upon at their leisure and to offer a more charitable interpretation of our situation if they can.

I noticed that the people you were thinking of contacting were mostly people within EA/Bioware (or former employees of or heads of Bioware)... Have you thought about contacting some of the more influential vloggers like TotalBiscuit or OM*GCata? Or other game media types? (On-line magazines, like Kokatu, for example.)

The only real way to get their current policy of silence is to put pressure on EA itself. The media is probably the best way to do this, and the bigger the better.

WB, Natashina! \o/

 

Rayla, if you could PM me with the link to that pic on deviantart with the female SW and Vette, I would most definitely appreciate it.

If it's the one I'm thinking of, just do a DA search for 'Vette a little nightcap'.

http://www.polygon.com/news - the website were we recently saw the phrase "EA added same-sex romances to SWTOR" corrected and removed. To get an article here we may need to contact the original author: http://www.polygon.com/2012/10/16/3511950/ea-zynga-say-lgbt-themes-are-a-non-issue-for-company-investors

(It seems TheVerge has been merged with Polygon)

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/contact?subject=news - Send Us News at Games Industry (which the above article cited)

http://kotaku.com/ - more gaming news, with a "Send a Tip" link right down at the bottom.

Just de-lurking (and using this as an excuse to put off more packing for my house move) to say hiya and to let you know that David Gaider is still a lead writer for Bioware - he's very active over on the BSN forums discussing Dragon Age 3 at the moment.

Hopefully with the Cartel shop on the pts now, it won't be too long before they start talking more about Makeb. I say hopefully, but not in reality expecting to hear anything until it's ready to drop. I started playing in the last round of weekend beta tests, and was in the first wave of early access - all my current characters exist purely to build legacy level/funds/crafting for when SGRAs go live so haven't really become too attached to them - my BH even

...yeah, that won't be happening when the game is complete.

And that's what it boils down to for me at the moment. I love the story, like a bit of pvp, the odd flashpoint etc, but without the inclusiveness of prior Bioware games, SWTOR feels more like a demo to me at the moment. A demo I'm thoroughly enjoying mind you, and I'm happy to stay subscribed, but if February rolls around and we're still at square one - I might have to reconsider. And it will be a tough choice, but silence can only be deafening for so long before it becomes unbearable.

I won't even start my cyborg Jedi Knight until Kira becomes available (or confirmation that she's not, although it's looking highly likely she will be, considering she's the only female JK companion) - and it's getting difficult to resist especially since all I can hear through Resident Evil 6 and Mass Effect 3 is her voice

"Um, same sex relationship stuff, there is... ah, I think it's in Makeb, in the ah the new update, I think there's some stuff in there, but I...ah... I don't exact- I'm not a writer, that sort of thing, the aspect that I'm kind of furthest from. Yeah yeah yeah. And, um, but it really comes down to... yeah, just getting on the schedule and getting that content in the game."

~ Gabe Amatangelo - Principal Lead PvP Designer

In March of 2012, Star Wars: The Old Republic fans were able to meet members of the design and writing teams of Bioware: Austin at the Guild Summit. After a sustained campaign by users in the weeks running up to the Summit, the question of whether or not same-sex relationships and associated content would be introduced into the game, as it was not included at launch.

Daniel Erickson, previous Lead Writer for Star Wars: The Old Republic, was able to say the following to people present at the summit:

"So the short answer is, [the schedule]'s never changed, [same-sex romances are] still coming, it's coming when full story comes, and when is full story coming? This year. So we are still on track."

The term 'this year' was never qualified by Bioware as to whether it referred to the calendar year of 2012, or to a twelve month period dating from the Summit or from the launch of Star Wars: The Old Republic. Many users have held onto the belief that the statement was in reference to the calendar year, though with a continued silence from the Community Team on the subject and the worrying process of game updates, there are those who are losing their faith in the schedule.

Daniel Erickson left Bioware in <month> this year, to be replaced by Hall Hood as Lead Writer in <month> (confirmation needed). In the wake of PvP Lead, Gabe Amatengelo's interview, several users contact Hall Hood via his Twitter feed for a confirmation of same-sex romances being with Makeb. Ixum was one of the few who was able to make a text record of Hall Hood's replies, before the first of the two tweets disappeared:

http://www.swtor.com/community/showpost.php?p=5198298&postcount=1656

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. :-)

-

Just working out a preliminary thing there. Transcript my own because I couldn't find the nice one for the life of me (stupid search function). Still need some extra information, like when Mr. Erickson left and Mr. Hood took over (and I am guessing somewhat at their titles, confirmation of that would be nice). I believe Mr. Reid is also important to our story, but I don't know much about him, so information of how to slot him into all of this would be much appreciated.

At the moment this comes across as more of a timeline than an address, but whatever, I don't think I'm invested enough to do an address on this subject.

I won't even start my cyborg Jedi Knight until Kira becomes available (or confirmation that she's not, although it's looking highly likely she will be, considering she's the only female JK companion) - and it's getting difficult to resist especially since all I can hear through Resident Evil 6 and Mass Effect 3 is her voice

Very true. Kira's biography and character is not denying the possibility to her to be bisexusal. Why not?

But my favorit possibility of SGR is FemSithWarrior and a poor little Vette. Just imagine: personal slave with electric collar, just for you... how could a NORMAL SITH deny this chance? Tell me, how?

I'm suspecting, Vette was seen by authors clearly for that - "sex slave romance". AND, possible for both genders.

Next in my chart is, of course FemBH and Mako. Poor little girl in desperate and seeking revenge... and of course The Old Sister BH will assist and guide her... in many ways...

By the way, its just the logical expectations, based on the story. Its Role-Playing, there is nothing perverted!

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:

 

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.

Lol..ok ok..even though I meant no offense to anyone, it seems many of you guys are very touchy about this subject. In any case I myself dont think there will ever be SGR in swtor, but you can believe in the devs as much as you want, and hey..maybe you get lucky and I will stand corrected, time will tell, but I wouldnt get my hopes up.

Anyway..this is my oppinion and I dont see any reason for taking offense in it, it not like im speaking out against SGR, I just dont think it will get in the game.

Peace out.!

I think telling a group that they're are just being "touchy" for an extremely negative statement is rather uncalled for.

The reason? Overall, we wouldn't go into a thread that you post in for a feature and tell you that "You're living in a dream world." 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.

In some ways, this is no different than wanting weather cycles for planets or barber shops/aging abilities for characters. SGRAs is a feature that we're asking for any information on. Plus, to be very blunt, those other topics are not features promised to players in the beginning of the game. Those are fluff features and are not central to the story.

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 naive. Also, enjoy asking for weather effects, ect. We won't come into your thread and tell you your ideas are unworthy, so have the same courtesy.

That's all I'm going to say about that.

Btw, I'm taking advantage of a 3 day vacation from work right now to confirm whether or not Vavavavoom (Vaverone Zare) on Tatooine is available as a one-time FTB for female Smugglers if you side with her during the final Class mission on Tatooine. I'll post when I know for certain one way or another.

Man, good luck! If you stumble across this, please add screenshots. I'd love to see this if it is true. I shall do a jig if it is.

Nice to see you in the thread, btw. I've lurked and funny how many posts of yours I run into in threads I like to check out.

In some ways, this is no different than wanting weather cycles for planets or barber shops/aging abilities for characters.

The only difference is that a romance feature is in the game already but is denied to certain players/PCs.

It's like, imagine there was a barber shop feature for female PCs only but those that play males were denied the feature currently. I can only guess how people with male PCs would handle that on the forums

The only difference is that a romance feature is in the game already but is denied to certain players/PCs.

 

It's like, if there was a barber shop feature for female PCs only but those that play males were denied the feature currently. I can only imagine how those that play male PCs would handle that

Wow, I haven't thought of that. Now that's a good point! I may have to steal that for later.

"Sorry, but this blue speeder is for male toons only. You ladies get the green ones, but only with certain classes. However, ladies, you should have to walk to keep that bod up! If you don't like it, reroll."

Yikes, I could almost see that happening.

Or if the game were only available for Windows, and not supported for Mac.

Oh, wait...

Leak found of "Chapter 4 'Rise of the Hutt Cartel'."

http://db-ptr.darthhater.com/items/57138/chapter_4_rise_of_the_hutt_cartel/

This would be a welcome surprise, if there was any way to introduce SGRAs and new story content, chapter 4 seems to be it.

Our info on Makeb is disappointingly vague – whether the level cap will be raised, what story continuation there will mean, etc. I saw that leak, and while it points to a Chapter 4 in the future, there's no sure indication that Makeb will begin it, or when it will happen. Assets are often added to games long in advance of their coming into use.

I am glad that story is being continued. I am deeply annoyed that they won't tell us anything useful, but just tell us to keep asking. I am not all that sure I care to keep playing, things being as they are.

Our info on Makeb is disappointingly vague – whether the level cap will be raised, what story continuation there will mean, etc. I saw that leak, and while it points to a Chapter 4 in the future, there's no sure indication that Makeb will begin it, or when it will happen. Assets are often added to games long in advance of their coming into use.

 

I am glad that story is being continued. I am deeply annoyed that they won't tell us anything useful, but just tell us to keep asking. I am not all that sure I care to keep playing, things being as they are.

Chapter 4 may have nothing to do with makeb whatsoever.

And Makeb may have nothing to do with SGRs.

Chapter 4 may have nothing to do with SGRs.

We don't know because they won't *********** tell us.

The censored bit is a word that starts with F and rhymes with "trucking" FWIW.

And Makeb may have nothing to do with SGRs.

 

Chapter 4 may have nothing to do with SGRs.

 

We don't know because they won't *********** tell us.

 

The censored bit is a word that starts with F and rhymes with "trucking" FWIW.

Oh I know that, I am just thinking along the lines of, if Chapter 4 and Makeb are two different story packs, we have a much better chance at seeing SGRs soon.

Then there's the issue of when the content will be added (pre lvl 50 or with the new stuff?)

If it's post-50, it better be awesome and worth the wait.

Now I'm wondering what my (and others) criteria for 'awesome' would be?

I haven't played the OGRA's, but I would expect that they'd at be at least on par with those.

Then I wonder if the added companions are ones I'm not interested in (or ones that most of the community don't seem interested in) does that disqualify them from 'awesome'?

At this point, not having told us that current companions will not be available as same-gender romantic interests, I'd consider it well short of awesome if none were available.

Also in the not-awesome category would be limited options by gender, faction or class (e.g. male-male relationships available to Bounty Hunters and Troopers, female-female to Sith Warriors and Smugglers).

Not-awesome would be having to progress to Lvl 50 before any same-gender content is available.

Not-awesome would be not having access to SGR on any companion whose story you have progressed past the point where the OGR conversation hook appears.

Not-awesome will be anyone who has been waiting, and patiently requesting clarification here, finding that the companion their heart was set on is not an option, after being allowed to wonder and hope all this time when the designers have known for a year or more which would be available.

Pay-2-Gay? Not-awesome.

Awesome would be care taken to assure that same-gender content isn't missed out on because you aren't level 50, because you are level 50, or because you have already maxed affection and finished existing story for a companion, or because you are the wrong gender for your class, or that M/M romance isn't sparsely supported in comparison with F/F.

Given the basic constraints in which the design team is working – having preset notions of which companions, who have to be scripted, voiced and animated – it is uncertain how much our feedback could or can influence the outcome. That would seem to me to be a pretty good reason to let us know what to expect, or not expect, in advance – at least in regards to those things least amenable to change.

I agree with all your points.

Given the basic constraints in which the design team is working – having preset notions of which companions, who have to be scripted, voiced and animated – it is uncertain how much our feedback could or can influence the outcome. That would seem to me to be a pretty good reason to let us know what to expect, or not expect, in advance – at least in regards to those things least amenable to change.

Yeah, it kind of sucks that they apparently know these things but we are allowed to sit here and hope that it will be handled like 'X, Y, or Z' or that certain companions might be available, etc.

My emotions, they toy with them.

What has really ticked me off recently is that we are so cordially invited by Community Support to continue to ask our questions here.

In the thread where, over the past ten months, more than seventy-five hundred posts, more than half a million views, we still have received no information, ever.

But do please feel free to ask!