Makeb or breakeb time.... yeah, that's terrible. I apologise.

Thank you, Uluain, that was a good read and further explains the tenuousness of our position and the so-called official statements we have(n't) been given.

 

I was talking to my husband earlier about this and how all the official word on this was never transcribed to the website, is only available from external sources (hence why people assume we are making noise over nothing) and that the individuals who made those statements have since left. From that he understands why this is so hard*.

 

That Bioware themselves don't realise that we shouldn't have to be the ones collecting the data and defending our corner is unbelievable. They assume that because the statements have been issued that they are somehow magically available and engrained into our collective hive-consciousness. Well they aren't.

 

They appear to have forgotten that not everyone has been playing since beta. They have forgotten that they erased all traces of the beta forums. They have forgotten that they never posted this information on their website, which would have therefore officiated them - making them more inarguable than the nebulous nature they have now.

 

People don't believe us when we say that these statements have been issued, because all we have are quotes from posts that don't exist anymore. People don't believe use because they think we are making this up. People don't believe us because Bioware has yet to wake up and realise that it has not said a word on this content on this website.

 

 

 

*The topic doesn't really interest him much, even though he'd like to romance Ashara with his Sorceress. He plays Guild Wars 2 now anyway

Agreed, on all points. In fact, the subject line of my original PM (a lot of which was about deleted posts, moderator actions etc. and thus not suitable to posting here) was "Your Silence Feeds Trolls (SGRs)" and it went to Joveth as well.

 

The only statement on SGRs made to these forums by the Community Team is a reposting of the Sept. 2011 announcement by Stephen Reid, without his subsequent, contextual and qualifying comments at the front of each iteration of this thread and as the closure to any which predate it.

 

So we do have that to point to. It isn't a whole lot, and it's growing whiskers.

As ti is over a year and was issued by a individual who has since left the company, none of our detractors will put any stock in the statement.

 

Even a re-issue with a different wording by Mr. Gonzalez or Ms. Berryman would be preferable at this point to that old statement. Especially so as it would appear in the Developer Tracker, where everyone can see it.

In the last salvo of the email volley that actually achieved Joveth's BW post in this thread, I did close with a strong recommendation for a fresh, post-launch position statement. I never heard back on that. My guess is that the Secret Masters quashed the idea and also said not to discuss their refusal.

Yes, they do seem to be very good at skirting the idea of actually confirming the existence of this content, but they're more than happy to encourage us to beat what may have once resembled a horse. They're so nice.

What? You mean it's not a piñata?

As to her reply there is your answer, they have no new info and when they do they will share it. What more do you want from them? She said when they get new info they will share it. While the Disney take over may not scuttle plans for this it may put them on hold if any restructuring ect is to happen to the staff.

 

There shouldn't be any restructuring of the staff. Disney isn't taking over BioWare or EA, they're taking over the Star Wars IP. That's all.

 

The SGR "gag order" has nothing to do with with Lucas or Disney. That's all on the EA bigwigs.

As for what we want, I thought that was quite clear. We want information clarifying the status and implementation of same gender content.

 

The designers must have answers to most of our concerns at this point. Any barrier to sharing it is policy based and that policy is doing far more harm to the community than good.

I am willing to wager when/if sgr come out there will still be people angry that is wasn't enough or it was poorly written or insert why its not good enough here..

 

You're saying that players might break with our long tradition of constant hosannah-singing and actually complain about a part of the game? Impossible!

 

For some in here they will never be happy. I give up, when/if this comes out I will leave the game. I dont want real life in my video games and that will be forced upon me.

 

So...Heterosexual relationships aren't real life? I don't know how I'm going to break this to my wife...

So...Heterosexual relationships aren't real life? I don't know how I'm going to break this to my wife...

 

That's different, because they say so. Maybe they think it'll be a 'fade to rainbows', rather than a 'fade to black', and the garish lights will give them head-aches... even though they won't be clicking on it?

Edited November 3, 2012 by Palar

Just out of curiosity what will happen if sgr content is not added to TOR?

Just out of curiosity what will happen if sgr content is not added to TOR?

 

You get to keep playing?

 

Out of curiosity, what if it is?

Just out of curiosity what will happen if sgr content is not added to TOR?

 

I can't speak for anyone else, but I imagine a number of people will unsub, or fail to resub because a tremendous amount of content remains unavailable to them -- and I believe that group includes a lot of straight people, such as myself, who don't raid, only occasionally PVP, and for whom SGRAs would have expanded roleplay options and increased replay value.

 

Beyond that, I suspect there might be longer term repercussions for EA/BW, depending on how long they drag this out. If the feature isn't going to be added, there's no reason not to announce that fact now (or last Summer) aside from a desire to keep paying customers on a string for as long as possible. If it ever becomes plain that that's indeed what they've been doing, I will never again buy one of their games, because why would I do business with any company that treats me the way a con man treats a mark?

 

This is where I believe their relative lack of experience with MMOs is going to bite them in the hindquarters. You can put out a lousy single player game and survive, the way a used car dealer than sell someone a lemon, and all that person can do is walk away and mutter "caveat emptor; because even with a good game the player often beats it in a few days or weeks and then moves on. But people can spend years in a good MMO, they form friendships with other players, they develop attachments to their characters, and if it turns out that while you've been playing your character, the company has been playing you -- well, the feeling of betrayal and outrage is commensurately larger.

 

Just my guess.

On that note, Tally time!

 

If you were around this thread in February and March just after the debut of the Weekly Q&A, you may recall I had a habit of keeping count of how many posts asked about same-gender content, compared to the total posts in that week's thread and calculating the approximate percentage.

 

This week, we have a Developer Q&A with lead Story Guy, Hall Hood, up on the General discussion board. People here know Hall tried to slip us a hint about the eventual release of SGRs last month on Twitter, but had to pull the tweet for a reason never elaborated. Naturally, a lot of folks have chimed in to ask about same gender romantic content.

 

Of 51 posts at present, 13 ask about SGRs, either solely or in relation to larger questions. That is, 25% of current posts mention it, one out of four. Not bad. I don't think they will let him answer them, but not bad.

Edited November 3, 2012 by Uluain

Beyond that, I suspect there might be longer term repercussions for EA/BW, depending on how long they drag this out. If the feature isn't going to be added, there's no reason not to announce that fact now (or last Summer) aside from a desire to keep paying customers on a string for as long as possible. If it ever becomes plain that that's indeed what they've been doing, I will never again buy one of their games, because why would I do business with any company that treats me the way a con man treats a mark?

 

I agree with the whole post, but especially this part - they lost enough trust with the Mass Effect 3 debacle and the TOR "global release", they don't need another blow to their credibility.

 

(I'm already going to give DA3 a miss until I see what the player verdict is... if this turns out to be a colossal run-around, 'tis a deal-breaker for BioWare in general. I work too hard for my money to put up with such crap.)

Edited November 3, 2012 by Palar

I think that chances of this not making this into the game at this point are nil. But that is all the more reason to want to be able to plan for it when it comes, although the closer we get, the more moot the point becomes.

I think that chances of this not making this into the game at this point are nil. But that is all the more reason to want to be able to plan for it when it comes, although the closer we get, the more moot the point becomes.

 

Except the problem is that we have no idea how close we are, so the moot-ness of our point still remains wonderfully intangible. In a way that works in our favour - we're still allowed to discuss the content, after all. On the other hand you have all the problems ever.

I agree with the whole post, but especially this part - they lost enough trust with the Mass Effect 3 debacle and the TOR "global release", they don't need another blow to their credibility.

 

(I'm already going to give DA3 a miss until I see what the player verdict is... if this turns out to be a colossal run-around, 'tis a deal-breaker for BioWare in general. I work too hard for my money to put up with such crap.)

 

Agreed, and I never thought I'd get to this point with Bioware. All of their games were eagerly anticipated and bought immediately. I just hope DA3 can bounce back and be as good as DAO.

Agreed, and I never thought I'd get to this point with Bioware. All of their games were eagerly anticipated and bought immediately. I just hope DA3 can bounce back and be as good as DAO.

 

This is the first Bioware game I've played. I must say, if future titles are going to treat the player base with this amount of contempt, I won't be buying them.

 

I may be playing them, however.

 

Ethical piracy? *shrugs*

This is the first Bioware game I've played. I must say, if future titles are going to treat the player base with this amount of contempt, I won't be buying them.

 

I may be playing them, however.

 

Ethical piracy? *shrugs*

 

Oh, you should really consider going back and playing some of their classic, Dragon Age: Origins stands out as one of my personal favorites. I'm not sure how you feel about older games, but KotOR remains as my all time favorite game, although the game is quite dated at this point and a bit clunky.

 

Actually thinking about those awesome games I may take a break to go replay DA:O, for one it actually allowed you to romance people of the same gender.

Oh, you should really consider going back and playing some of their classic, Dragon Age: Origins stands out as one of my personal favorites. I'm not sure how you feel about older games, but KotOR remains as my all time favorite game, although the game is quite dated at this point and a bit clunky.

 

Actually thinking about those awesome games I may take a break to go replay DA:O, for one it actually allowed you to romance people of the same gender.

 

I'm not big on single-player games, even though I suppose I should be, as I enjoy stories. I think the other half has a copy of the Dragon Age game floating around somewhere...

Oh, you should really consider going back and playing some of their classic, Dragon Age: Origins stands out as one of my personal favorites. I'm not sure how you feel about older games, but KotOR remains as my all time favorite game, although the game is quite dated at this point and a bit clunky.

 

Actually thinking about those awesome games I may take a break to go replay DA:O, for one it actually allowed you to romance people of the same gender.

 

I only recently played DA:O for the first time after my boyfriend convinced me to and I was more than pleasantly surprised to find that not only could I romance Zevran (which was totally awesome) but that you weren't locked into a specific gender at the brothel. Really didn't expect that given how much older the game is and how long it took to get MM SGR's in Mass Effect.

This is the first Bioware game I've played. I must say, if future titles are going to treat the player base with this amount of contempt, I won't be buying them.

 

I may be playing them, however.

 

Ethical piracy? *shrugs*

This is my first Bioware game as well. Also my first EA game (how I lucked out in that regard I have no idea).

 

With (in my opinion) the way they have routinely treated the playerbase poorly, this will also be my last game by either company.

 

And I may be unsubbing from SWTOR if something doesn't change.

 

Crashing since 1.4, this last patch (1.4.3?) has made the game an unplayable slideshow that still crashes every 1 to 2 hours.

 

Add to that the whole "back of the bus" treatment SGRAs have gotten, I seriously wonder why I try to play this game.

 

Try being the operative word. Haven't had a 3+ hour play session in about a month now.

That's different, because they say so. Maybe they think it'll be a 'fade to rainbows', rather than a 'fade to black', and the garish lights will give them head-aches... even though they won't be clicking on it?

 

I LOL'd.