They certainly have to change a few things yes. The effect of the vaccine should persist through death for one, I remember the PvPers being quite annoyed at having to constantly buy and re-apply it as a result of dying in warzones.

 

The devs should also decide whether or not the "infection mission" is supposed to work on friendlies or not; a lot of people used the justification that "there's a mission to infect other players therefore it is okay for me to infect anyone I want" yet it seems not a single one of them had ever read the mission log as it quite clearly stated opposing players was to be targetted... so either the mission was bugged or a re-design decision was made without updating the mission description before it went live.

All they have to do is make the vaccine reusable and sell for 1 credit.

That way you're not inconveniencing anyone.

Hey everyone,

 

I wanted to specifically address the concern of “what is a subscriber getting in an all Cartel Market update?” Game Update 2.1 brings a whole lot of customization and convenience features to the game which have been requested for quite some time, such as character name changes etc. As we have stated in the past, we always design systems like this knowing that subscribers will be receiving Cartel Coins each month, and certainly more options for your monthly Cartel Coin grant can’t be a bad thing!

 

I think the core of some of your frustrations is that you feel like Game Update 2.1 is “eating up a slot” for our regular content cadence, and because of that, you won’t actually be receiving any new content in this “cycle.” I figure the best way to address that is to lay out a bit of a road map of what the next few weeks looks like! This will help especially if you are only looking at what you are getting within one “content cycle.” As I have done in the past, I need to make it clear that everything I am about to say is our current plan and that it is subject to change, but I want to give you as many details as I can! Here is our current plan:

 

• Game Update 2.1 will release on Tuesday, May 14th
  
• Game Update 2.2 will release on Tuesday, June 11th
  

If you are keeping track and we hit those dates, Game Update 2.2 will releasing 8 weeks and 2 days from the time we released Rise of the Hutt Cartel (so basically around our 8 week cadence that is often referenced). What that means is that even though I can’t yet tell you what is in Game Update 2.2, you are getting two Game Updates within that period. I will say this: Game Update 2.2 has no new Cartel Market features… Also, both of these Game Updates will come with the usual bug fixes, quality of life improvements, etc. which you have come to expect (reference the patch notes for more info).

 

I know many of you will reserve full judgment until you see what happens over the next few weeks. I hope getting a little bit more information on our timeline will help alleviate your concerns. I have stated before that our Cartel Market and content teams are two very different things internally, which is why we can have these two Game Updates release so close together. Hopefully that provides some insight into our plans!

 

TLDR – If you’re concerned that Game Update 2.1 is taking up space in our content cadence and only contains Cartel Market stuff, fear not, Game Update 2.2 is coming sooner than you would expect!

 

-eric

 

PS – The Gree Enclave wanted me to pass on that they will be returning soon…

Eric what are you doing? a road map really? I thought that was taboo at EA?

Look Eric, here is my beef with this update/game.

Beef #1) When this game went F2P, we were told that subscribers would see a SIX WEEK cadence for content updates! Many of us renewed our subscription with this in mind, expecting we would see TEN meaningful content updates.

Beef #2) The term meaningful content update defined by Bioware was lost with 2.1! How the heck does 2.1 add to extend our experiences with this game? Customizable options NEVER extend the core game in ANY game.

Beef #3) What the heck is Bioware thinking of charging for customizing features like this!! Grow up Bioware... look at the skill respec system for subscribers. Cartel Coins aren't used for respec. Bioware needs to be consistent with its messaging and more importantly the value proposition for subscribers! Subscribers believe in this game... don't violate their trust with this garbage.

Ideal fix for this situation is a re-commitment to SIX WEEK meaningful content updates. These customizable features should be a side dish to the main course.

And to all the haters of this post... I have no problem quitting and giving you my stuff.

Eric what are you doing? a road map really? I thought that was taboo at EA?

Hey, I'm equally surprised, but a wecome one at that.

Look Eric, here is my beef with this update/game.

 

Beef #1) When this game went F2P, we were told that subscribers would see a SIX WEEK cadence for content updates! Many of us renewed our subscription with this in mind, expecting we would see TEN meaningful content updates.

 

Beef #2) The term meaningful content update defined by Bioware was lost with 2.1! How the heck does 2.1 add to extend our experiences with this game? Customizable options NEVER extend the core game in ANY game.

 

Beef #3) What the heck is Bioware thinking of charging for customizing features like this!! Grow up Bioware... look at the skill respec system for subscribers. Cartel Coins aren't used for respec. Bioware needs to be consistent with its messaging and more importantly the value proposition for subscribers! Subscribers believe in this game... don't violate their trust with this garbage.

 

Ideal fix for this situation is a re-commitment to SIX WEEK meaningful content updates. These customizable features should be a side dish to the main course.

 

And to all the haters of this post... I have no problem quitting and giving you my stuff.

1. Actually they said 6-8 weeks, with 6 being the goal, but 8 to provide wiggle room (and they are using that.)

2. You may not find it meaningful, but some of us do.

3. Wow. That was esoteric. Linking apples and oranges doesn't make it true. A respec has a functional application to how the game is played. Cosmetic enhancements don't. I'm not going to behave any differently just because I look different.

I'LL TAKE YOUR STUFF!

See that is the stat I would love to see. How many players who, when game was not F2P, complained how $15 a month is too much for this game, but are now dishing $600+ a month for various CM items... Oh the irony and the sickness of modern human condition...

I'd guess, very few.

My bet would be 70% of subscribers have only ever spent bonus cc's, maybe 20% have spent equivalent to doubling their sub price, and 10% are going nuts.

I'd also guess that a F2P who is primarily into the PvE/story side could play with almost full sub privileges for $50 total for a couple of characters. I don't think most subs know this can be done for so cheap. It could also be done by making several million credits in game while subscribed and buying the unlocks from the GTN. I don't think this is widely known either.

I'd guess, very few.

 

My bet would be 70% of subscribers have only ever spent bonus cc's, maybe 20% have spent equivalent to doubling their sub price, and 10% are going nuts.

 

I'd also guess that a F2P who is primarily into the PvE/story side could play with almost full sub privileges for $50 total for a couple of characters. I don't think most subs know this can be done for so cheap. It could also be done by making several million credits in game while subscribed and buying the unlocks from the GTN. I don't think this is widely known either.

I'd almost invert those numbers, since they did say that the CM makes a lot more money than subscriptions. That being said, the whole idea of the stipend is to encourage CC purchases. It's widely known that once a player spends the games monitization currency, they will more likely do so in the future. So the "grant" is more akin to a sample of an addictive product, such as the cigarette giveaways done in bars. Once they try it, they become hooked and are more likely to partake in the future.

If I were to guess, I'd say that somewhere between 20-30% of subscribers only spend their grant with a very small portion of them not spending at all. Then probably another 30-40% will throw down $10-$20 every month or so on some coins, usually around new CM drops or discounts. Somewhere in the 10-20% range are those who spend $40-$80 per month on the largest CC package either to take advantage of the same CM drops/discouts or to stash away for future releases. Another 10-20% will make regular weekly purchases of the $40 packs as their paychecks hit their bank accounts. Then the final 10-20% will be those with incredible disposable incomes or incredible self control issues will spend in excess of $500 per month for CCs.

At the end of the day, I'm just another face and name, and every day that passes I'm growing old.

Down a long hollow road, solo in a night so cold, lost like a child caught in the rain.

That is the chorus to my band's upcoming song, the Noose. Think about it for 2 seconds and apply it to yourself if you whine on the forums, justified or childish, it does not matter. Devs probably don't listen to a lot of people here because, as they full well know, just reading the people on here moan and complain over awfully superfluous reasons in the long term when people clearly are still enjoying their time in the galaxy far, far away like a bunch of children, and in turn like the Sith Lords of the game (direct correlation perhaps?) I can't say I blame them for not responding more than they do.

If you want to have constructive criticism like, say "Well the customization is a good idea, but I feel it is missing a few things like the Hood Toggle or this or this because of X," in a generally neutral voice, that's fine. I'm sure everyone has their own things they'd like to see and clearly has an opinion about the updates. But there IS a saying: You get more with honey than with vinegar. And for those who don't recognize that truth, well, at the end of the day you're just another face and name.

I'd almost invert those numbers, since they did say that the CM makes a lot more money than subscriptions. That being said, the whole idea of the stipend is to encourage CC purchases. It's widely known that once a player spends the games monitization currency, they will more likely do so in the future. So the "grant" is more akin to a sample of an addictive product, such as the cigarette giveaways done in bars. Once they try it, they become hooked and are more likely to partake in the future.

 

If I were to guess, I'd say that somewhere between 20-30% of subscribers only spend their grant with a very small portion of them not spending at all. Then probably another 30-40% will throw down $10-$20 every month or so on some coins, usually around new CM drops or discounts. Somewhere in the 10-20% range are those who spend $40-$80 per month on the largest CC package either to take advantage of the same CM drops/discouts or to stash away for future releases. Another 10-20% will make regular weekly purchases of the $40 packs as their paychecks hit their bank accounts. Then the final 10-20% will be those with incredible disposable incomes or incredible self control issues will spend in excess of $500 per month for CCs.

You are dreaming.

You can buy a car for $500/month. People stupid enough to spend that on nothing are too busy trying to remember which shoe goes on which foot to learn how to operate a PC. People with enough money to not care about $500/month have far better ways to blow that kind of cash.

I'm Really Hoping 2.2 Has Nightmare TFB and S&V or its gonna kill the game for the hardcore players It's all that were prepping and hoping for right now.

+1.

Amen brother.

PS - The Gree Enclave wanted me to also pass on that you will see them before Game Update 2.2...

Did you also receive any unusual reports from Tatooine?

If you are keeping track and we hit those dates, Game Update 2.2 will releasing 8 weeks and 2 days from the time we released Rise of the Hutt Cartel (so basically around our 8 week cadence that is often referenced).

So just yesterday, your boss, Frank Gibeau said this during the conference call:

We continue to deliver new game updates for the community every six weeks, helping drive subscribers and freeplay consumers to the game.

http://files.shareholder.com/downloads/ERTS/2467335263x0x661559/d34b9685-e689-44d1-925e-86a19acbd995/Q4_FY13_Script_FINAL.pdf

Didn't he get the memo?

You are dreaming.

 

You can buy a car for $500/month. People stupid enough to spend that on nothing are too busy trying to remember which shoe goes on which foot to learn how to operate a PC. People with enough money to not care about $500/month have far better ways to blow that kind of cash.

I had a guildmate who was buying a Hypercrate (sometimes 2) every week. People with money to blow, will blow it.

This is where Bioware is so far out of touch with the subscriber base.

 

First: The fact that you are designing systems around subscribers monthly allocated coins instead of giving subscribers what they should be getting for 15 dollars a month is completely backwards. Have you looked at the cost of things? 4 months of cartel coins is an armor set or 2 cartel packs per 1 month (Not even two of the best packs... 1 of the major pack and one of the minor).

 

You are basing your cartel coin pricing on "What will players spend real money on and not want to wait until they've saved up their monthly allotment". You are pushing for the already "gotta have it now" crowd of the MMO's into opening their wallets and hiding behind this rouse of giving away 500 coins and saying "Or they can save up for it". It's a passive/aggressive business tactic and shows NO RESPECT to the subscribers of this game.

 

Secondly: When players asked for all of these things it was before the cartel market. It was before F2P. All of these things that you are including now are what was asked for FROM BETA. Instead of giving the subscribers what they want.. you are CHARGING them for it, on top of the subscription. That is why people are pissed off. Take, for example, this collections thing coming in 2.1. When the cartel market was first hitting the scene and it was on the test server there were massive threads from subscribers asking that all the armor and vehicles be BOUND TO LEGACY because people who were spending real money on something, wanted to have it for all of their characters. What does the collections thing do? It gives the subscribers what they asked for... however.... You have to PAY for it. You are charging for services that subscribers should already be getting for free (and by free, i mean included in their 15 dollar a month fee) after listening to our feedback about what we wanted to see.

 

How do you not see a problem with this? Is the hood toggle going to cost us 200 cartel coins? How about our UI buffs and debuffs...that's something we've been asking for since beta too... will that cost us as an "UI appearance" change fee?

 

Why should we give feedback on systems if you're going to turn around and charge us for what we ask for?

This needs to be reposted about a million times until it sinks into biowares head. I could not have said it better.

You are dreaming.

 

You can buy a car for $500/month. People stupid enough to spend that on nothing are too busy trying to remember which shoe goes on which foot to learn how to operate a PC. People with enough money to not care about $500/month have far better ways to blow that kind of cash.

YOU can buy a car for $500 a month.

People who can spend $500 a month on Cartel Market items pay cash for their cars; they don't have to take out loans. And if that's what they find entertaining, more power to them.

Why should we give feedback on systems if you're going to turn around and charge us for what we ask for?

This needs to be reposted about a million times until it sinks into biowares head. I could not have said it better.

Obvious answer is obvious. So they know what we'll pay for.

Thanks Eric, that is great news!

I wasn't expecting 2.1 until another 5 weeks from now or so, finding out we also get a more content focused update within that same 8 weeks timeframe is really awesome news!

Especially since I was already very excited about 2.1, and how it introduces a lot of things I've been looking forward to for a long time! So it's kinda like a bonus!

Hey everyone,

 

I wanted to specifically address the concern of “what is a subscriber getting in an all Cartel Market update?” Game Update 2.1 brings a whole lot of customization and convenience features to the game which have been requested for quite some time, such as character name changes etc. As we have stated in the past, we always design systems like this knowing that subscribers will be receiving Cartel Coins each month, and certainly more options for your monthly Cartel Coin grant can’t be a bad thing!

 

I think the core of some of your frustrations is that you feel like Game Update 2.1 is “eating up a slot” for our regular content cadence, and because of that, you won’t actually be receiving any new content in this “cycle.” I figure the best way to address that is to lay out a bit of a road map of what the next few weeks looks like! This will help especially if you are only looking at what you are getting within one “content cycle.” As I have done in the past, I need to make it clear that everything I am about to say is our current plan and that it is subject to change, but I want to give you as many details as I can! Here is our current plan:

 

• Game Update 2.1 will release on Tuesday, May 14th
  
• Game Update 2.2 will release on Tuesday, June 11th
  

If you are keeping track and we hit those dates, Game Update 2.2 will releasing 8 weeks and 2 days from the time we released Rise of the Hutt Cartel (so basically around our 8 week cadence that is often referenced). What that means is that even though I can’t yet tell you what is in Game Update 2.2, you are getting two Game Updates within that period. I will say this: Game Update 2.2 has no new Cartel Market features… Also, both of these Game Updates will come with the usual bug fixes, quality of life improvements, etc. which you have come to expect (reference the patch notes for more info).

 

I know many of you will reserve full judgment until you see what happens over the next few weeks. I hope getting a little bit more information on our timeline will help alleviate your concerns. I have stated before that our Cartel Market and content teams are two very different things internally, which is why we can have these two Game Updates release so close together. Hopefully that provides some insight into our plans!

 

TLDR – If you’re concerned that Game Update 2.1 is taking up space in our content cadence and only contains Cartel Market stuff, fear not, Game Update 2.2 is coming sooner than you would expect!

 

-eric

 

PS – The Gree Enclave wanted me to pass on that they will be returning soon…

Hey nice job keeping us in the loop Eric. To this gamer at least it REALLY means a lot.

I had a guildmate who was buying a Hypercrate (sometimes 2) every week. People with money to blow, will blow it.

Pretty much that, for a long time I assumed the same thing as CosmicKat - that those who are "filthy rich" wouldn't bother spending their money on a game, but the truth is that even those people often have the same "mundane" hobbies that the rest of us do - even some pretty famous people play the same MMO's that we do.

Mercedes Lackey (a famous fantasy author) for example has done a lot to try to save her favorite game, City of Heroes, when NCSoft decided to shut it down.

Jim Butcher, the author of the Dresden Files also played the game for a while, and every now and then some other celebrities have spoken up about playing a certain game.

And there are plenty of people who run their own business, that at the end of the day settle down to enjoy their favorite hobby as well.

No one gives specifics until they are rock solid. Get over it.

Hey derp,

Please explain to me the utter ******** he gave for half the post, and no hint in subs getting anything but a stab in the back as always. Please tell me how the fact that he doesn't even know what people are asking about is not an issue.

Pretty sure I didn't post about details on 2.2, etc. Not sure what you read lol.

All I know is that Eric spewed his BS as always.

Hey derp,

 

Please explain to me the utter ******** he gave for half the post, and no hint in subs getting anything but a stab in the back as always. Please tell me how the fact that he doesn't even know what people are asking about is not an issue.

 

Pretty sure I didn't post about details on 2.2, etc. Not sure what you read lol.

 

All I know is that Eric spewed his BS as always.

Hey,

Look who is spewing their BS as always! Don't you have better things to do?

You are dreaming.

 

You can buy a car for $500/month. People stupid enough to spend that on nothing are too busy trying to remember which shoe goes on which foot to learn how to operate a PC. People with enough money to not care about $500/month have far better ways to blow that kind of cash.

Actually, I'm not. Working in a casino I see the other side with lack of self control on a daily basis. People who don't have two cents to rub together somehow manage to rack up thousands of dollars worth of comps every month. It's sad that this happens, but it does. So to say that an average of 15% is in the gratuitous amounts of disposable income, lack of self control, or both isn't unrealistic. Everything is relative.

If you make $50,000 a year (Median household income is $52,762), to drop $200 a month on a habit for yourself or kids is not unrealistic (the average smoker does). Take that income to $500,000 and you can move that to $2000. Well according to the U.S. Census around 2% of the population makes about that much ($438,326). Moving on to the 100k-250k bracket ($154k average), you have was 6.5%, 50k-100k ($86k average) was 18.5%. So for 2% to spend $2000, 6.5% would spend around $700 and 18.5% would spend around $400.

Doing a little math (2+6.5+18.5= 27) it's not hard to see that a quarter of the population could spend $500/mo ($640 average). I'm saying 10-20%, so a 15% avereage. I can contend that 3/5ths of the top 25% would actually play in such a medium as an MMO, factoring in that children would be the users, not necessarily the income winners. What parent wouldn't spend $500/mo. to rationalize keeping their kid out of trouble? There are a lot worse ways that a kid in that income bracket could spend that kind of money.

Hey,

 

Look who is spewing their BS as always! Don't you have better things to do?

Not bothering to acknowledge the truth huh?