Does BioWare take pride in their MMO?

Guys, just ask yourselves this, if they truly truly have pride in this game then why would they launch the biggest change to the game which fundamental changed everything for everyone (Nov. 15 F2P) and then send all but the night janitor home for a week, a whole week? How many 1000s upon 1000s of people needed customer support over the bugged out cartel market and other in game issues as a result of the update or whatever but nobody was there to fix anything even if they wanted to?

Can anyone even suggest that is taking pride in the game? Please be serious.

I think there's some things to still be proud over. They really did a fully voiced MMO, more or less. With some actual conversation choices other than accept/reject quest.

But past launch? The last year or so? I can't see anybody seriously taking pride over what's happened over the course of 2012. It's just a matter of who's more ashamed than who.

I think they did take pride at the start (prior to Oct 08) on the concept and ideal of the game.

Even after the website opened you watch the early dev diaries and this game IS NOT what they were talking about back then.

At some point the wheels came off and this game design changed for the worse
The original Ideas were tossed and the "new" more WOWish designs were added

I do not beleive any previous Bioware employee feels pride in this game

Thats not to say this game is horrible, I still play and pay so obviously I find something to like.

But THIS IS NOT the game that was built up and advertised way back in Oct '08

But mostly, and they can spin it any way thay like" watching the heart and soul writers and developers willingly leave this project (Like Drew K) tells you the story in itself. People abandoning a sinking ship.

I keep hopeing new blood will turn this game around but more and more it looks to be turning into a cash grab mechanic.

And who could feel pride over that?
maybe the lawyers and managers but creative people. Artistic people. People with imagination would all be physically ill watching something with so much potential be changed to a online cash grab.

and im still waiting on Pazzaak and Swoop Racing.

It is not BW anymore. If you look at the game, right now, in this state is no where near what BW wanted.
(my opinion)

I have been with this game since first beta. I have watched the degradation of since then.
I look at it now and just wonder what it could have been.

To answer the question. No. I don't think there is any pride in it, other then the money they are making.
They are a business, and that is what they a here to do, make money.

I get that. I understand that. But there is a difference between making money, and just plain trying to get the most you can for little to no effort.

I Have said this before, and it seems not to get through to people.
I don't blame eaware. I blame us. ( us in the general term )

We pay for the games. ( eaware is not the only game nickle and dimeing, they are however doing it worse then I have seen ). You want changes..... stop paying for bugtastic games. You don't want pay2win games..... don't pay for them.
( I am no better then anyone else in this matter, I have been doing it right along too)

I see it all too well. People come out and flame people when they voice their opinion on something. They are called haters..... here is a hint for you, I would rather die on my feet, then live on my knees. I will fight for something I believe in.
And I see it too many times people being called a fanboy, because they love the game. Same thing I am sure for them. they are fighting for what they believe in.

The sad part about this is I love this game. Not for what it is now..... but for what it was going to be. Now it is just eaware trying to grab as much money as they can, while not caring if it is a good game.

That is the only thing they have pride in atm.

( sorry for the rant)

You just said a whole lot of what I've been trying to find the words to say for a long time. Thank You!!

At the end of the day there really is no one to blame but ourselves, all of us for bad gaming. If we didn't pay until they proved a good product then and only then will we turn this genre around and maybe even TOR.

Please think about that for a bit.

For things like the Revan mask clipping, the fact that the hood stays down, when it is also up, the canisters on the CZ-13K not connecting to the chest, just floating in space(more errors like these and not enough space to write), no, they can't possibly take pride in that. These are all easy fixes, and should have been noticed while making this stuff. Easy as in, one man, and a few minutes time. They can't possibly be THAT understaffed.

These are things someone should be fired for, with whatever is the opposite of a letter of recommendation. The people doing some of these models and textures seriously have no place in the gaming industry.

I very much hope that someone with a love of MMOs, gaming, and Star Wars bring us a new Star Wars MMORPG.

I do enjoy the game, but things like that really take me out of it sometimes. I probably won't continue my sub, and I'm not sure how long the fun I AM having will last.

Not sure if oblivious, or troll... But how is what he said exclusive inside information? Anyone who has kept up with the game knows that most of the original key players for this game are long gone. From 2 rounds of lay offs earlier in the year, along with (but not limited to) the original Executive Producer for SWTOR, the IA Storyline writer, the founding doctors of BioWare itself, and many more. Also, we all know that back in July, EA themselves called SW:TOR a "disappointment". O.o

They all left, and we got the Hickman. >.>

The rant was welcome, cause it's truthful. What I dont get though, is how they can miss something simple. Not sure if it's game developing companies, or just businesses in general. They dont seem to understand if they built a more quality product, they would inevitably make more money.

Maybe not so quickly, short term, but in the long run. MMO's are designed for longevity. Single Player games are designed for a quick experience, and then you put it on the shelf until you get the urge to play it again. MMO's, people play it off and on for years.

If they seemed to take pride in the game, and would fix glaring issues and bugs, we'd all be happier with the game. The happier we are, the longer we'll play the game, and the longer we'll subscribe. Which also translates into the more money they would make over all because we'd be happy to throw them a couple bucks and buy something from the cartel market.

The consumer you piss off, make them hate your product and your company, they arent coming back for a while, if at all. You wont be making money off of them, but some other company that takes pride in their MMO... They will now be getting the money from the happy customer easily. Not because they're forcing them too with restrictions or blatant cash grabs, but because the consumer feels confident in the longevity of the game itself.

It's making me wonder if there isn't two companies trying to benefit here. I can see bioware getting the active subscriptions a month, whereas a second company could be the one bringing out new cartel market stuff and getting all the money from that. Hence the reason why cartel stuff is coming out quicker, they want to get paid.

Based on this image New PvE and PvP gear I think the answer is obvious.

You know, I wasn't sure if this is attempt at trolling, but I'm going to answer you anyway. Both of BioWare's founders, Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk, retired Sept. 18th, 2012. These men were the visionaries that lauched the solid company that was BioWare. Then the Lead Designer Daniel Erickson left Oct. 4th to look for greener pastures. Executive Producer Rich Vogel also left just before another massive round of layoffs for the SWTOR team. BioWare is not the entity that once made the amazing titles they were known for. Now it is merely a subsidiary of EA. To many, including myself, BioWare no longer exists, it's just EA.

Coupled with the fact that the new Executive Producer, Jeff Hickman, who's pedigre includes Customer Service Director and then (when EA took over) Executive Producer of Dark Age of Camelot and Executive Producer of Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning. His assignment to SWTOR is indicitve of what happend to the two other games he helmed, status quo and stagnation. Cut everything out and tread water is his hallmark.

So yea, not a whole lot of exclusive information, you can find it plastered all over the internet. You just have to take time to look. (in case you didn't, I provided links )