When I did Black Talon (most of my time has been Empire side), I thought it was awesome because we were having all of these group conversations. It was really like a group story we were all getting to participate in. I was getting to see the personality of other people's characters. Then there were the FPs after that... and hardly anyone got a chance to talk.

I still remember the night I did Esseles for the first time, a few days into Early Access. One of my team-mates is a guy I have played table-top and online RPGs with for about 30 years (ouch, I feel old). The other two are people I have played online RPGs with since 2003. The four of us went through this FP together, and it was amazing. I remember sitting there as we "rolled" to win the conversation, laughing at the things the smuggler said, nodding at the Jedi-esque things the two consulars said, etc. And I thought, "Bioware has done it. They've made me feel like I am back playing D&D in my mother's kitchen, with all my friends around the table enjoying it with me." The computer was the table top, and we talked in text chat in between scenes rather than voice, but so what? It was exactly the feeling I used to get playing D&D. And I thought, "This is pure gold. BW is going to have a HUGE success on their hands." I thought it had the potential to be the greatest computer game ever made.

And by the way, the feeling I had that night is the feeling they SAID they wanted us to have in all their dev pre-launch comments about the convo system. They wanted it to be like your old D&D days where you all sat around trying to be the one the DM decided the NPCs would listen to... where you had to construct the story together. And I thought, that night as I played Esseles for the first time, "They did it. Bioware actually did it." I hadn't believed it possible, but they accomplished their goal of making it feel like you're playing together around the table top, playing a real RPG and not just some mindless MMO grind-athon.

But although I still like the game, I have had to admit now that I was wrong. Bioware didn't do it -- at least not in more than a few brief Flashpoints. They did NOT make a game where you feel like you are playing table-top D&D together with your friends again... Because for 90% or more of the content, all you do is have a quick convo to get the quest, and then it's EQ/COH/WOW-style "kill everything that moves and loot its corpse" game play. The reasons behind the quests are a lot better thought out, which is nice... but you don't need other players to do most of them, and the conversations are cursory at best. Sure there are some DS/LS choices, again that's great. But most of the time it's just "OK, I will go destroy 50 droids for you and blow up the enemy transmitter." And off you go... and so much for the feeling of "playing table top D&D."

Bioware's done a decent job here. By any standard SWTOR is a perfectly good MMORPG, probably one of the better ones ever released.

But it could have been so much more. If Esseles had been the norm, rather than the exception, they could really have had something here. And I bet their subs would not have dropped so fast. Because if it's just WOW in Space... if it's "just a regular MMORPG with Star Wars added," then there is no reason to stick with it. EQ/WOW-model MMOs are a dime a dozen out there. Tons of them are F2P. New MMOs come out every week, all copying the basic WOW/EQ model. What is to keep people in TOR after they have capped 4 toons to 50 and done dailies for a few weeks or months? What makes it BETTER than the other MMOs out there, enough to keep playing it?

The answer was supposed to be "story" -- and TOR falls short there because they went with the Mando Raiders format for too much of the game play, and didn't do Esseles style anywhere near enough. My guess is, they couldn't afford to do Esseles all the way through... and really that's a shame, because it would have truly set this game apart, if all FPs and Heroics were like that (regular missions don't have to be... but the group stuff should have been).

And yeah some people wouldn't have liked it... the spacebar fiends... but really, they could have just given every player a check-box option "Show me a wall of text instead of cutscenes," and they'd have been all set.

 

I agree on some like the dyes and a more indepth crafting system (really all that needs to happen is they need to add wear and tear to the quality of all equipment and then crafter items would become more usefull and wanted)

 

Dyes with the colour match system would probably be the best colour customisation ever seen in an MMORPG. It would be excellent.

Thanks again everyone for sharing your thoughts. But do try to not attack the devs or engage in "DOOM crying." Instead of insisting the game is dead, suggest what you believe will keep it alive.

Chessack, thanks for the post. I agree wholeheartedly. The amount of conversation in Black Talon/Esseles should be the NORM, not the exception. The devs really need to remember this going forward in the game's development. This kind of group story experience is something that only TOR can offer, and they should take full advantage of that. (At least I don't know of any other games with this kind of system.)

Honestly, TOR needs to separate itself from the pack and build upon what makes it unique rather then trying to appease the typical MMO players. In other words, don't try to make WoW. WoW already exists and those that want to play it will play WoW. Honestly, I'm disappointed by the current philosophy that the end-game is driven by obtaining better loot. I mean, I grind dailies and repeat FPs and Ops over and over again to get better gear, then that gear allows me to basically do more of what I'm already doing but at a slightly harder difficulty. And that gets me better gear so that I can... do you see where I'm going? Gaining better gear isn't a reason to keep playing. The only thing that will keep me playing is new experiences. Now that doesn't necessarily mean new content.

Often, a unique gameplay system can provide many more new experiences then new content, and for a fraction of the work. For example, the Black Talon FP is fun to run multiple times. Why? There's lots of different possible conversation combinations. The fifth time through on my one character, I still caught a few lines of dialogue I hadn't before.

This is also why I would love a deeper and more complex character development system. If we had a larger potential for unique and more varied builds, we would be able to try new builds, tweak builds, and create unique characters that would ultimately offer the potential for many new game experiences.

As for the high costs of items like legacy perks, I'd still like to hear more opinions from people. Like I said in my first post, I don't know if it's just me or what. Are most people happy with these prices? Maybe it's because I don't like to spend my time grinding dailies on my 50. I'd rather play through the storyline on a new character, but I'm not going to earn a lot of money doing that.

But when it comes to equipment modifications, I still believe it should be free, or at least extremely cheap, to unslot them. I realize the game needs money sinks, but it should not be a money sink to customize your character. Raise repair costs or increase the GTN fees if you have to.

And again, make all gear adaptable like the social gear, or at least make all orange gear adaptable. Let us dress the way we want to dress. I mean in the new Q&A you mentioned how when you make a Bounty Hunter outfit you've decided a Bounty Hunter should wear heavy armor. Why? Not all bounty hunter's wear heavy armor, and not all players who play Bounty Hunters want their characters to wear heavy armor. You mentioned "Boba Fett, Boushh, Dengar," but what about Cad Bane, Aurra Sing, Calo Nord, or Mira? Why look at that, all bounty hunters and not one of them in heavy plated armor. All I'm saying is, let us dress how we want. Please.

I'm gonna finish reading Game of Thrones first. I can't have two going at the same time.

Immediate lol

What would keep the game alive is to do writing in the future that puts you in places and situations that feel like Star Wars. I feel that they took the opportunity here to just go too far out on the story limb (Belsavis Alien storylines) and there is little that reminds you of epic moments from the movies or even the books from EU.

-The War needs to go hot. The cold war thing has to be done with an emphasis on espionage and skirmishes with plausible deniability. They haven't been able to capture that, just go with a hot war between repub and empire. Make PvP the main mechanism for this.

-There should be FP's that split you into two pairs for segments of the story for the ensemble feeling.

-The Giant cthulhu bosses need to go away. Reign it back in guys, just because you can do something, doesn't mean you should.

-The Full 3d Space game (hopefully forthcoming) needs to have fighters as well as ships of the class that players currently have access to

-Recreate epic moments from the movies and books. Break out of detention center/capture the prisoners, deactivate the defense shield, defend your base from imperial walkers/attack republic stronghold. These should happen on worlds that we have leveled through to give reason to go back.

I was agreeing with most of what you said up until this point:

"-The end-game system needs to be simplified and/or explained to the player. I mean, as a player, I shouldn't HAVE to go on the net to learn how to play the game. . WHAT THE **** IS GOING ON?!?!"

I don't want them holding my hand throughout the whole game. While there's some things that definitely need to be explained in detail for the general player to understand, gear at end game does not, and should not be.

What you're suggesting here would be a ridiculous level of handholding.

There are some things in MMOs you have to figure out yourself.

On the rest of your post:

You list some problems with the game. However, they are all very minor, and aren't gamebreaking.

The LFG tool for instance. All of the flashpoints are centralized in one location. Anyone looking for a group should have just went to the fleet....like most do currently.

A LFG tool really won't do much. People aren't finding groups because people aren't looking for groups. A LFG tool isn't going to magically fix this, like many are going to find out soon enough.

I was agreeing with most of what you said up until this point:

"-The end-game system needs to be simplified and/or explained to the player. I mean, as a player, I shouldn't HAVE to go on the net to learn how to play the game. . WHAT THE **** IS GOING ON?!?!"

 

I don't want them holding my hand throughout the whole game. While there's some things that definitely need to be explained in detail for the general player to understand, gear at end game does not, and should not be.

What you're suggesting here would be a ridiculous level of handholding.

 

 

There are some things in MMOs you have to figure out yourself..

I agree

On the rest of your post:

You list some problems with the game. However, they are all very minor, and aren't gamebreaking.

The LFG tool for instance. All of the flashpoints are centralized in one location. Anyone looking for a group should have just went to the fleet....like most do currently.

A LFG tool really won't do much. People aren't finding groups because people aren't looking for groups. A LFG tool isn't going to magically fix this, like many are going to find out soon enough.

This is where I disagree. I found that looking for a group was done better on the planets where everyone was leveling. Now with an automated group finder people will have no reason to even leave the fleet. The funny part is it will auto teleport them, yet they had to walk for 30 secs while doing it manually on the fleet:rolleyes:, such gamebreaking immersion.

.But when it comes to equipment modifications, I still believe it should be free, or at least extremely cheap, to unslot them. I realize the game needs money sinks, but it should not be a money sink to customize your character. Raise repair costs or increase the GTN fees if you have to.

Yeah I'm torn with this....... on the one hand money sinks do help the game (and not just in adding an easy grind for the devs, but in help reduce hyper-inflation in the in game economy)...... but on the other removing mods can have a brutal cost, especially in the end game.

I'm wondering if they could maybe add a increasing cost with repetition, like respec, or something.

I didnt have time to read the whole thing yet but I agree that switching out gear should be free or at least cost very little, like 1k, NOT 140k. Grinding Dailies does get old. Although more clothing options and customizing I agree with, some gear should not be on some character. IMO many of the jedi robes look like dresses.

It's called a money sink. There is enough complaints that there's nothing to spend money on and how players have so much money sitting on their toons. The cost to swap out mods isn't so bad unless you're doing it often. It's a way to get credits out of the game that's all.

Chessack, thanks for the post. I agree wholeheartedly. The amount of conversation in Black Talon/Esseles should be the NORM, not the exception. The devs really need to remember this going forward in the game's development. This kind of group story experience is something that only TOR can offer, and they should take full advantage of that. (At least I don't know of any other games with this kind of system.)

I agree that it shouldn't be the exception to the rule. I'd say once in every 3 flashpoints. So you get a heavy dose in BT/Esseles then light in Hammer Station & Athiss, Mand Raiders is prime for a lot of conversation. good smack talk between you and the leader of the Clan or back to base with status updates and or suggestions to move forward.

It actually is a very high priority. Identity is incredibly important in an MMO and we're always looking at ways to help players better express themselves and facilitate strengthening that identity.

 

You list some very thoughtful suggestions, and while I can't promise any of those things will ever happen, we definitely appreciate your feedback and take it seriously.

 

However, I'm happy to let you know that we do have plans for extra customization coming in the near future. For instance, companions will have all the match to chest options (as well as hide helmet) that a player has, and those settings will store per companion. Obviously some companions won't get the benefit of this feature (i.e. Khem Val, SCORPIO, etc. - anyone who doesn't really wear the armor you give them), but you won't have to stare at multi-colored Aric Jorgan anymore - that's gotta count for something.

<3

That little tid bit made my day! (I play dress up with my companions...I'm weird like that.)

Any chances on some additional customization looks for the non-humanoid companions (Specifically Scorpio)

However, I'm happy to let you know that we do have plans for extra customization coming in the near future. For instance, companions will have all the match to chest options (as well as hide helmet) that a player has, and those settings will store per companion. Obviously some companions won't get the benefit of this feature (i.e. Khem Val, SCORPIO, etc. - anyone who doesn't really wear the armor you give them), but you won't have to stare at multi-colored Aric Jorgan anymore - that's gotta count for something.

Brilliant news. No more clown outfits for pets

It actually is a very high priority. Identity is incredibly important in an MMO and we're always looking at ways to help players better express themselves and facilitate strengthening that identity.

 

You list some very thoughtful suggestions, and while I can't promise any of those things will ever happen, we definitely appreciate your feedback and take it seriously.

 

However, I'm happy to let you know that we do have plans for extra customization coming in the near future. For instance, companions will have all the match to chest options (as well as hide helmet) that a player has, and those settings will store per companion. Obviously some companions won't get the benefit of this feature (i.e. Khem Val, SCORPIO, etc. - anyone who doesn't really wear the armor you give them), but you won't have to stare at multi-colored Aric Jorgan anymore - that's gotta count for something.

Since Matt is the programmer who basically made the Appearance Tab for Star Wars Galaxies in his free time, I'd take his points on customization seriously.

It actually is a very high priority. Identity is incredibly important in an MMO and we're always looking at ways to help players better express themselves and facilitate strengthening that identity.

 

You list some very thoughtful suggestions, and while I can't promise any of those things will ever happen, we definitely appreciate your feedback and take it seriously.

 

However, I'm happy to let you know that we do have plans for extra customization coming in the near future. For instance, companions will have all the match to chest options (as well as hide helmet) that a player has, and those settings will store per companion. Obviously some companions won't get the benefit of this feature (i.e. Khem Val, SCORPIO, etc. - anyone who doesn't really wear the armor you give them), but you won't have to stare at multi-colored Aric Jorgan anymore - that's gotta count for something.

I have had an idea stored about extra customization options, but haven't had the chance to put it out, as the suggestion box is flooded and/or "ignored".

So if you read this, why not make an option for synths and armor mechs to critical hit a orange schematic from a green item, followed by augment critical chance.

As many people have pointed out, A LOT of the green items are MUCH cooler and nicer, than the orange we have now. (At least from republic side)

I cant see any downside to this solution.

1.: The design team doesn't have to move a finger.

2.: More customization options for the users.

3.: More options for crafters.

4.: More verity in the SWTOR world.

And many, many more.

It actually is a very high priority. Identity is incredibly important in an MMO and we're always looking at ways to help players better express themselves and facilitate strengthening that identity.

 

You list some very thoughtful suggestions, and while I can't promise any of those things will ever happen, we definitely appreciate your feedback and take it seriously.

 

However, I'm happy to let you know that we do have plans for extra customization coming in the near future. For instance, companions will have all the match to chest options (as well as hide helmet) that a player has, and those settings will store per companion. Obviously some companions won't get the benefit of this feature (i.e. Khem Val, SCORPIO, etc. - anyone who doesn't really wear the armor you give them), but you won't have to stare at multi-colored Aric Jorgan anymore - that's gotta count for something.

Thank you for taking time out of your busy day to reply! Might I trouble you for an update on the hood up/down feature as well?

Since Matt is the programmer who basically made the Appearance Tab for Star Wars Galaxies in his free time, I'd take his points on customization seriously.

Had anyone else posted this, I'd have been skeptical. But you're correct - Matt is unequaled with his track record. I'm THRILLED to see him post on this subject!

It will also save some pointless mod-swapping for those of us who like to see our companions' faces without having to do weird stuff like getting a Jedi "headband" and modding that for Elara Dorne, Tharan Cedrax, Nadia Grell etc., ...

Thumbs up, and hope this man gets his code live, and gets a pay rise too!

State of The Game: My Opinion

1. Customization needs to be a higher priority.

 

-Remove the credit costs to unslot modifications, allowing us to change out pieces of equipment for free.

-Remove faction and weight class limitations from all armor.

-Make all armor become adaptive, so that it acts as the highest weight class available to a character, (allowing anyone to wear any armor, provided they meet the lvl. requirements and whatever.)

-Make an orange Custom class version of ALL models of armor available.

-Create some kind of dye system that allows us to choose the colors of our armor, and if possible our weapons. (This needs to happen as soon as possible, at least for armor.)

-I would also like to see a voice pitch feature, which would allow us to raise or lower our character's tone of voice.

-A larger number of options at character creation would also be appreciated. For example why are Humans the only ones with facial hair options? A separate facial hair option would be nice for cyborgs and any other species that can have it.

-Oh and of course the ability to put any hood up or down.

Most of these are fine as suggestions but I really don't know about allowing all armor for everyone though. I feel like a Consular should look different from a Juggernaut

2. The current crafting system is broken.

-So far I have tried Synthweaving and Cybertech, and have had two VERY different experiences. My main experience is with Synthweaving, and I'm sorry but it's just ridiculous. The crafting system is so complex, cumbersome, confusing and unintuitive that I hardly use it. This is another feature that has left me shaking my head. I was really excited by the prospect of crafting in the time before launch, but have been severely let down.

 

When I open my Synthweaving window, I am greeted by a massive list of recipes; most of which are for items that no one will ever want and there is no reason for me to make. And for every green recipe, I can reverse engineer it to learn up to 17 variations of that item. Of course in the time it would take to get the one I want, I could easily outlevel the item and obtain a better item through questing or Flashpoints.

 

Now, as a Synthweaver, I basically just look for recipes for orange items to see if they offer any kind of new cool appearance. But I see no real reason to try to craft and sell any items because I never needed to go on the markets to find armor so why would anyone else? When I have sold crafted items on the market I can only seem to sell them at a price that barely gives me any profit, and is therefore not worth the hassle. Of course I now have the option of making Augments, but finding recipes on the market that are good enough is hard to do, and if I do find one it is insanely overpriced.

Just because you wouldn't buy it doesn't mean someone else wouldn't buy it. There is plenty of opportunity to make money selling mid-level blues on the market, you should try it. Not just Synth & Armor, but implants from Bio and ear pieces from Cyber all can and do sell.

3. Social tools need fixing.

Ways to improve the guild system:

 

-Let us inspect guild members even if they are offline.

-Let us search our guild for crafters and inspect their recipes. Then let us basically place an order with the item that we would like that person to make us. Then, whenever they are on, they can look at their orders, craft the items, and have them automatically sent to the recipient.

-Guild coalitions or whatever you want to call it would also be nice. Allowing larger groups to communicate.

-Some kind of in-game event calendar would also be great.

 

Other social features we need:

 

-Legacy friends! So that we can see if a friend is online regardless of what character they are on and regardless what faction that character is.

-Legacy banks to easily share items among our characters.

-Cross-faction chat. If I understand right, custom chat channels are locked by faction. Change this. Let's say I'm on a Republic character but some people are making a team to do an Imperial Operation I've been wanting to do, I'd like to know.

-Also, Chat groups. Essentially, just let us look at a list to see how many people are in a custom chat channel and who they are.

 

The market also needs to be improved. Combining the neutral market with the faction markets is a good start, but the system needs improvement.

Suggestions:

-If I sell a stack of items the price I enter should be the price per item.

-If I'm selling a stack of items the buyer should be able to buy as many of them as they want, instead of having to buy the whole stack.

-When I search for items to buy and I arrange them by price, it should be by the price per item.

-When on the Purchase tab, if I click drag and drop an item it should do an automatic search for that item.

-It would also be nice if there was some way to place an order for something we needed then have a crafter or supplier fill that order.

Most of this I totally agree with. Purchase orders are a big one. Maybe not exactly what you suggest but at least more options around item based pricing are definitely needed.

Other issues:

 

 

-And is there any reason to do space combat at lvl 50? The outfits don't excite me much and the only other thing is those item boxes, but I don't really like random item rolls because I don't even know if I'll be able to use the item I get. If not I just wasted a bunch of commendations and a ton of time for nothing.

I thought the level 50 ones gave daily commendations now.

-My newest character has Slicing (as I'm trying to find a better way to make money), and quickly realized that something was wrong. Why is it that any Slicing mission that rewards lockboxes that is rated above Moderate, always results in a LOSS of credits? Even if you succeed, the money earned in the lockbox doesn't even cover the cost to run the mission, making these missions less then a waste of time. They actually waste your time and money without a chance of a reward. I assume this is a result of the "fixing" that happened. A new player who's not as observant as myself could easily loose a lot of money on this.

Leveling slicing up will probably lose money, but at 400 getting a critical and selling 340 missions on the market should be a money maker (and the purple Augment materials )

...

1. Customization needs to be a higher priority.[/size]

...

-Make an orange Custom class version of ALL models of armor available.

...

2. The current crafting system is broken.

...

-Every item we make needs to be something useful that people would actually have a reason to buy, not a bunch of pointless fluff.

I posted a suggestion in the suggestion forum about this that I think would easily and quickly fix both these issues.

Whenever you update a recipe to purple, the purple recipe would create the item WITH mods, like many purple items that exist in the game. That way ALL recipes can eventually be upgraded and worn by any character and upgraded with mods so that if you like the look of a level 19 armor set, you can use it throughout all content.

This basically:

1. gives purpose to ALL recipes

2. adds more armor looks in the game without having to design them from scratch

3. make synthweaving/armorweaving more useful and FUN (remember this little word??)

4. boosts economy

5. MAKES PEOPLE HAPPY

It actually is a very high priority. Identity is incredibly important in an MMO and we're always looking at ways to help players better express themselves and facilitate strengthening that identity.

 

You list some very thoughtful suggestions, and while I can't promise any of those things will ever happen, we definitely appreciate your feedback and take it seriously.

 

However, I'm happy to let you know that we do have plans for extra customization coming in the near future. For instance, companions will have all the match to chest options (as well as hide helmet) that a player has, and those settings will store per companion. Obviously some companions won't get the benefit of this feature (i.e. Khem Val, SCORPIO, etc. - anyone who doesn't really wear the armor you give them), but you won't have to stare at multi-colored Aric Jorgan anymore - that's gotta count for something.

Then why do I have to have the best possible gear in the game, from the hardest possible operation, in order to have a set bonus anything but one of 3 gear sets?

Customization is important! We just feel it should cost you stats. We fill people who do not care about how they look for have advantages in combat!

I appreciate the amount of time that the OP took in expressing their opinions and felt strongly enough about some of their comments that I wanted to post my own responses. I do not mean to disparage the OP or any other opinions which may be expressed within this thread. My responses to the OP below are only meant to provide a contrasting opinion. While some of my comments may come across as rude, they are not meant to be so.

I've only responded to the first bit, because the post was so long and I'm not much for posting. Perhaps I'll get around to expressing more opinions later.

State of The Game: My Opinion

1. Customization needs to be a higher priority.[/size]

I disagree. I'm quite happy with the current level of customization and feel that they adding to our ability to customize at a surprising rate.

State of The Game: My Opinion

This is especially true in the early levels.

I feel that while some customization in the early levels is nice, the ability to customize should scale up as one progresses in the game be it in terms of level, money, or some other means.

State of The Game: My Opinion

As a level 50 with high grade gear, it would cost me more then 100,000 credits to unslot all of the mods out of a piece of armor.

I think this is acceptable. Being able to remove mods from armor and insert them into other armor should not be free in my opinion and I do not consider 100,000 credit to be difficult to come by for a level 50 character.

State of The Game: My Opinion

Any character should be able to look however they want, regardless of class or faction. I feel like my character's appearance is more based on how you the devs think he should look, instead of how I want him to look. Why does my Sorceror HAVE to wear robes? Why does my Bounty Hunter HAVE to wear heavy armor? Why can't I dress them the way I want to?

I disagree with your initial premise as I understand it. I think certain appearances should be reserved or restricted based on certain criteria. I do not believe that any character class is restricted to any particular armor look thanks to social armor.

State of The Game: My Opinion

And why is there still no dye system? Personally I feel like this is something that should have been in since launch. The ability to change the color of our armor and equipment seems like a basic feature to me.

Personally, I don't think I could care less about a dye system. It's hard for me to imagine a new game system which I would not prefer to see more than this.

State of The Game: My Opinion

Suggestions to fix the problems with customization:

-Remove the credit costs to unslot modifications, allowing us to change out pieces of equipment for free.

-Remove faction and weight class limitations from all armor.

-Make all armor become adaptive, so that it acts as the highest weight class available to a character, (allowing

anyone to wear any armor, provided they meet the lvl. requirements and whatever.)

-Make an orange Custom class version of ALL models of armor available.

Please do not do any of these things.

State of The Game: My Opinion

2. The current crafting system is broken.

I whole-heartedly disagree with pretty much everything in this section. I have a crafter of every profession at 400 with the exception of Biochem which is somewhere around 350 and I'm quite happy with crafting.

 

However, I'm happy to let you know that we do have plans for extra customization coming in the near future. For instance, companions will have all the match to chest options (as well as hide helmet) that a player has, and those settings will store per companion. Obviously some companions won't get the benefit of this feature (i.e. Khem Val, SCORPIO, etc. - anyone who doesn't really wear the armor you give them), but you won't have to stare at multi-colored Aric Jorgan anymore - that's gotta count for something.

This is a really nice change, on of those things, that doens't always seem like it will add too much to the game, but in reality will add a massive amount to the game in diversity and customer satisfaction.

It actually is a very high priority. Identity is incredibly important in an MMO and we're always looking at ways to help players better express themselves and facilitate strengthening that identity.

Thank you SO much for your post Mr. Boudreaux. Honestly, I am simply overjoyed to know that someone in the development team has actually read at least some of this thread and heard my thoughts. I'm a very happy Jawa.

At the moment I think the biggest thing that can be done for customization would be a dye system so we could freely choose the colors of our clothes and armor.

My thoughts are that you have several good points mixed into the fact that this seems to be your first MMO. Many of the things you are complaining about are the way MMOs work, and usually how they have to work.

This is most certainly not my first MMO. I've accumulated at least 5 years of subscription time in City of Heroes. It is the only other MMO I have ever subscribed to. Granted, it does not follow the typical MMO formula, but that is why I enjoyed it. And although many of the things I may be complaining about are how most MMOs work, they are not how MMOs have to work.

I have tried trial versions of many other MMOs and did not enjoy them. I tried a trial of WoW and absolutely hated every minute of it. Everyone looked the same and quests were pointless "Kill X amount of Y" or "Collect A amount of B" tasks. It felt like I was doing chores, not playing a game. That is the current problem with the end-game. It feels like I'm doing chores, not playing a game.

Doing a bunch of repetitive tasks to increase my stats so that I can do more repetitive tasks is not fun. I do not want to spend hours suffering through boring gameplay just so I can get a new pair of boots or gloves. Some people may say this means I'm lazy and don't want to work for the rewards, and to those people I say... you're absolutely right! This is a game! The second it starts to feel like work is the second I stop playing! A new pair of boots or gloves is not enough of an incentive to slug through 3 hours of mind-numbing gameplay.

What keeps me playing this game right now is the story. Playing through the different class and planet quests or experiencing a good story-driven FP with a team is why I am still playing this game. If not for those, I'd be gone.