TOR is amazing! =) ...But the game management is awful :(

SWTOR may not have lived up to it's largely player induced hype and hyperbole, but it is far from a failure. It is as successful on a % of subscriptions retention (your choice of argument, not mine) basis as Rift over the same time frame, and most people laud Rift as a success.

As for F2P, well if you did any objective checking on the internet about evolving business models for MMOs, you would see that market forces, not the games success, is what is driving the move to a two tier freemium access model, which by the way is not actually F2P.

@LeonBraun:

What you posted has nothing to do with the SUBJECT of this thread.

What you ostensibly posted was a post on "communications" concerning SWTOR by The Community Team.

I agree with you in part but, I do see the community team as being a bit more active and forth coming these days.

That said, you never stated and "example" of what you "feel" is mismanagement of SWTOR "at the highest levels". This thread was not really about that at all. You just ranted on communications and became yet another post on this subject that appears daily.

@Everyone reading this thread:

*jedi finger wiggle* This is not the post you are looking for. Nothing to see here. Move along.

If TOR was doing well then it could keep its sub model because people are willing to pay, like Rift and others.TOR going F2P is the direct result of people realizing its simply not worth the sub fee. TOR's continual failure has created the atmosphere in which the only way to squeeze out a few more dollars is by going F2P or shutdown entirely.

And they are probably on a shorter leash with EA than Paragon Studios was with NCSoft. If the Cartel shop doesn't produce enough income after the change, this game will be shut down by EA and/or Lucas.

I believe a big part of this can be resolved by additional active participation by the community team and devs on the forum. Yes, this forum. It's cool to have Facebook, Twiiter, Reddit, etc all covered but this is the only space on the web that is 100% devoted to THIS game. They need a bigger presence here.

Ok, so they don't have anything new to say but can't you add to player discussion and pretend you care about the game? Example, threads about lore, game play style, etc should have a bioware community rep response. It would show us that you actually play your own product and care about it enough to have an opinion on things, even if you post a disclaimer that it's your opinion only.

This isn't a SWG is better thread but I remember when I first started playing Thunderheart and Twiggs the CM's for SWG would post at least 10-12 things daily. He was passionate about his job because he was actually a huge fan of the game prior to being hired as a CM. We need that same level of interest.

I fully appreciate their efforts to reach out to developers but it would be even better if they were engaged in the community in ways that are non official as well. More communication, even when it seems like it's non essential says volumes more for the health of the game than the current pace of information flow.

You need to research more, and opinionate less IMO, about a business model you clearly do not understand.

Moving to a freemium dual access model (it's not actually F2P) is a smart business move as it opens the game up to a wider player base with a broader set of choices in how each player wants to play. And if correctly monitized, the free side of the operation makes as much or more money as the subscription side. If they monitize incorrectly, then they fail, but the market for freemium is well researched and player habits well understood in terms of "free", so I'm pretty sure they will do well on this (rocket science it is not).

You don't have to like the idea of freemium, but it's big in the industry, getting bigger every day, and is not going away. There very likely will be few, if any, actual subscription only MMOs in the industry moving forward. Blizzard will never release a subscription MMO again, ever. And that realization will drive every other MMO producer in the same direction that is not already headed there. I give Bioware credit for moving sooner, rather then later.

1. Massive sub losses
2. Massive server shutdowns (more coming)
3. Massive layoffs
4. Massive profit losses

F2P by any other name.........necessary or TOR was going to shutdown entirely. You need to take off the beer goggles and look at the reality of the situation.

Andryah,

I agree wholeheartedly with you on this aspect. Not only will this most likely bring more players, a freemium account is what attracts. limit freebies with what they can actually partake in is a decent way to keep the paid subs happy as well. F2P is borderline as described by Andryah, but brings in more players and that aspect is always good, though they will be limited on how many WZ's, Ops, HM's etc a day. they can still hit level cap and still enjoy the game. A healthy game is actually based on its player base, and what they (the devs) can produce.

You can't make everyone happy, but you can feed the masses with content and that my friends is what keeps games alive. I for one will continue paid sub, and enjoy the perks alongside of the collectors edition perks as the game progresses. I am a leader in a thriving guild as well, and we too are adjusting some for the freebie player accounts to come in. Just because they are free subs doesn't mean they don't know how to play or can't play. And Honestly, the majority got into this game because of the game and have stuck with it from alpha, beta, and release. and definitely doesn't mean a game is dead or dieing as many "gamers" want to say.

A reasoned response was given to your "broken record" ( you are posting this same drivel in every thread today it seems). It is you that needs to "take of your beer goggles". You have illustrated ( as many here on these forums do ) that you are incapable of a reasoned debate. You and your ilk have your "opinions" and will fight to lead others into error with louder and louder screeds the more each is disproven. Do you not know by now that any reasoned person sees through your smoke? But, you echo the call "I will not serve" which each posting. Because it is you who rail at truth.

Well said!

Sorry, but Andryah is correct. The market is shifting towards the F2P/Freemium model. Subscription is no longer the way to go. It hasn't been for a while now. You really like to beat these 4 points around don't you?