Barbershop sounds fantastic. But please add some black hair options to the mix. My guild (the globetrotters) want to have some new styles for our toons some nice fro's and a black moustache option would be nice maybe even some crazy samuel jackson style sideboards.

 

If they have even one business guy on the development team they will add a bunch of hair, head, tattoo, etc options and maybe even revamp the body type system.

 

If they add just a "barbershop" type thing, that will make them money. But if they add the shop at the same time as adding a ton of options, exponentially more people would pay to change their character to be more customized with the new features.

I was a subscriber and then I stopped playing for awhile and came back as a preferred status player. I was shocked by the changes to the game and how little freedom I had as a non-subscriber. I really don't think things like toggling helmets on and off, matching armor colors, displaying titles (that you earned by investing time in the game), sharing gear and currency between alts, and medical probes should have to be purchased from the Cartel Market. I think these particular changes to the game are ridiculous. Most of these things come standard with any other MMO and I think SWTOR is going to antagonize a lot of people by denying these features to free-to-play players.

 

I can understand selling cosmetic items through the Cartel Market like special gear skins, vehicles, pets, race change, racial unlocks, etc.--a lot of other MMO's charge for similar items, but expecting people to pay real currency for features that come free with most other free-to-pay MMO's isn't good business. You may make a little extra money early on, but eventually people are going to navigate to other free-to-play games that don't put as many restrictions on game play.

 

Free-to-play needs to be revamped.

 

There would be no point in having subscriptions is everything outside of vanity items was handed to F2P. F2P gives you a taste for the game and, luckily, there are items available in the CM and GTN that can improve the experience even for F2P and Preferred players.

 

As to the state of the game; sounds good. Lots of new accounts, content has been rolling, and barber shop is coming. I like that the barber shop is a CM thing. That's exactly the sort of thing that is acceptable to charge extra for.

 

Keep up with the good work and improvements, BW!

Good things coming Mr. Hickman, however i have a few things to request.

 

I would like to see more things for our guilds, it would defiantly help coordinate our activities.

 

1. Guild Calendar - When you log in to the character screen you could put it on the left side showing all the guild events, guild leader and officers could update it as needed.

 

2. Fix the Message of the day and Guild description - so it can be read by players outside of the guild and new guild members. Also expand the size of both please.

 

3. In Game Guild Recruiting Terminal / NPC - Allow us to describe the guild and receive and reply to prospective candidates. Let the new person fill out a short application.

 

4. Guild Mail - Let the guild leaders and officers be able to send messages to any or all in the guild. By addressing the TO: field to "Guild". Also a message shout be sent to the guild leader when a member joins or leaves.

 

5. In Game Note Pad - Let us be able to keep on going notes , it could be on player side so it does not take up game resources.

 

6. Instant Travel - When grouped with 2 or more allow players from anywhere in game to be moved to where the group is.This will greatly speed up flashpoints and operations , but not limited to flashpoints and ops, it should be for just grouping if you wanted. Oh yea AT NO COST , CARTEL COINS or LONG COOL DOWN PLEASE!

 

7. Free Roam Space Flight - Both PVP and PVE missions, let us travel from sector to sector with out ships. Let us board ships like in the beginning of episode IV (both PVP and PVE)

 

8. Guild Capital Ships - Let us have a capital ship that has docking bay we can fly our ships into, then exit our ships and go to meeting rooms etc..( i know this has been mentioned but don't screw this up by making it to cheep ).

 

Along with all the good stuff you mentioned, these will go a long way to help the guilds.

Guild capital ships could be awesome if done properly. Like super-duber awesome.

Guild capital ships could be awesome if done properly. Like super-duber awesome.

 

Like dual specs, they seem to be one of the things that was taken from the wall of crazy and put into active development only to be placed back on the wall at a later date.

Sounds like some cool stuff coming up. I'm a big fan of the character customization option. Although I do have one request..... Can I please, within a reasonable amount of time, move my 50 Powertech to my destination server. I feel as though it's been long enough.

Hey everyone,

 

I wanted to add some clarification to something that I am seeing mentioned quite a bit in this thread which is our 6 week cadence and Jeff’s mention of 8 weeks. Previously we said:

 

 

 

We should have been much clearer with what we meant by “or so”. Even back in November when this was in the first State of the Game blog, our goal has always been to bring updates out every 6-8 weeks (which is what we meant by 6 weeks or so). If you look at our release schedule over the past 6 months we have stuck pretty well to this cadence. Jeff mentioning 8 weeks is more to say that our aim is to always get content out to you folks as fast as we can, and our target is 8 weeks or sooner.

 

I just wanted to add that clarification and not have you guys think we have changed our development goals. The goal has, and still remains, every 6-8 weeks. I hope that clears things up!

 

-eric

 

 

Umm... I think you (read: bioware/dev team) and us (read: player base) aren't on the same page about the 6-8 week cadence. I think that you feel a patch with a new cartel pack is an "update" that meets this criteria; whereas we think a patch with new content meets this criteria. Cartel Packs aren't a substitute for content. The ONLY content you've released since thanksgiving (rough estimate off the top of my head) is the Gree event (and no, doing it twice with a new speeder the second time doesn't count as new content). We want new stuff to do every 6-8 weeks. Not new stuff to buy.

Add blue mandalorian armour.... to the cartel market if thats all your doing now.

In fact, our major focus after Rise of the Hutt Cartel launches is going to be on "quality of life" improvements.

I expect chat bubbles to be on top of this "quality of life improvements" priority list. Is that the case? When can we expect them to be implemented? Within two to three months after the launch of the Rise of the Hutt Cartel expansion? Edited March 22, 2013 by Glzmo

No mention of chat bubbles once again.

Can we excpect them in the next half year or do you think it will take longer? What are the plans for them, are there any?

 

They exist. They're in the code. A few of my fellow testers actually enabled them during beta (and they may have been officially active for a bit - I wasn't in every phase). But they bogged down the client too much. It couldn't handle them, even with a great rig. The engine is simply too poorly optimized to handle them. I wouldn't hold your breath for them.

They exist. They're in the code. A few of my fellow testers actually enabled them during beta (and they may have been officially active for a bit - I wasn't in every phase). But they bogged down the client too much. It couldn't handle them, even with a great rig. The engine is simply too poorly optimized to handle them. I wouldn't hold your breath for them.

 

You are correct they worked in beta but got disabled

They exist. They're in the code. A few of my fellow testers actually enabled them during beta (and they may have been officially active for a bit - I wasn't in every phase). But they bogged down the client too much. It couldn't handle them, even with a great rig. The engine is simply too poorly optimized to handle them. I wouldn't hold your breath for them.

The same performance issues were the case with nameplates, too. They fixed those, but ran out of time to apply the same fix to chat bubbles. They only recently stated that to have been the case.

And yes, I was in beta and actually had chat bubbles enabled and they didn't hog down my system very much (I had a 10-25FPS drop on my system from 90-111FPS total, which isn't worse than say enabling Anit-Aliasing or dynamic shadows. That said, my system there was top-end back then).

The main reason they recently cited that they aren't in the game now was said to be that they want to do them "right" and find time to work on them. I certainly hope there will be time now as part of these promised "quality of life improvements" after the Rise of the Hutt Cartel expansion launches, as chat bubbles have been on the top of the quality of life wishlist for socializers and roleplayers since launch (and before that).

I have remained loyally subscribed since launch even though socializing and roleplaying without chat bubbles causes headaches to me in order for them to implement chat bubbles with the money I spent on the game and I think it's high time they finally delivered. Chat bubbles are for the social aspect in the game what the group finderis for PVE aspect and the Warzone queue system is for the PVP aspect. The latter two features have been long implemented, it's high time the developers took time to finally implement chat bubbles as well.

Edited March 22, 2013 by Glzmo

The same performance issues were the case with nameplates, too. They fixed those, but ran out of time to apply the same fix to chat bubbles. They only recently stated that to have been the case.

And yes, I was in beta and actually had chat bubbles enabled and they didn't hog down my system very much (I had a 10-25FPS drop on my system from 90-111FPS total, which isn't worse than say enabling Anit-Aliasing or dynamic shadows. That said, my system there was top-end back then).

The main reason they recently cited that they aren't in the game now was said to be that they want to do them "right" and find time to work on them. I certainly hope there will be time now as part of these promised "quality of life improvements" after the Rise of the Hutt Cartel expansion launches, as chat bubbles have been on the top of the quality of life wishlist for socializers and roleplayers since launch (and before that).

 

I'm all too aware. For me, the most frustrating part is the knowledge that they're right there, able to be enabled at a moment's notice. I realize they want them done right, but they need to do them, period. Give players the option.

are you that person who was almost in tears because nobody would group with you and kill everything for you through all of the solo content so you wouldn't have to? the first planets are to learn game mechanics. you really should run the solo content by yourself so you can figure out how to swing a lightsaber and how the game works. my experience is, if you have a question about gear or mechanics someone will likely try to help. your just complaining about someone not holding your hand and running your story for you.

 

it does get harder, so if you're unable to beat a silver or gold of your level with a companion helping you, you probably need to figure out why and try again. then, move on to the next planet when you're ready.

 

I have levelled 7 toons to 50. Every time I start an alt and get on the starter planets and I see someone ask a question in gen chat, they get harassed by other players and told they are stupid because they dont know the answer, or they are told L2 Google. I can see where that person you are insulting is coming from. I try to help new players with questions, because it takes as much time to answer their question as it does to insult them or be a complete butthead to them

Quote: In fact, our major focus after Rise of the Hutt Cartel launches is going to be on "quality of life" improvements. We will keep at it, I promise. We’ll keep listening to your feedback and continue to dedicate ourselves to making the game the best it can be. Nothing is more important to us than getting it right.

 

 

Really is that mean that they will fix bug on lightsaber or other small thing that should have been fixed long ago!

Cool, I've been waiting for a barber shop style feature since launch. As an ex City of Heroes player it's been very frustrating not to be able to change these things easily (I miss Icon).

 

My one concern is having to pay cartel coins for something as trivial as changing hairstyle. A full body type or species change I can understand would be a cash option as these are pretty major changes, but I would have hoped changing hair style/colour or facial tattoos would have been available for in-game credits as it's something you may want to do quite frequently if you RP or even if you just get bored of your current look.

 

I guess it's time to start saving my monthly CC grant...

 

I too am an Ex-City of Heroes / Villains / Champions Online / DC-Universe Online / Runes of Magic / Star Trek Online.. player. I have also Beta tested about half of them I just listed. As you can see I have spent a lot of time in MMO's.

 

Frankly I am surprised at the choice of spending cartel coins for changing hair styles! DCUO (a main competitor) allows you to use in game credits to make changes like new hair and Skills / Powers respec. Now if you were to give the players a choice of either Coins or Credits, like you do for some of the Legacy Content. That would be acceptable, as it would allow for players to pick the one that best suits their character's budget.

 

I also understand paying real cash for major changes, like race or even a total respec to a new skill set. Those are major changes. But a hair cut?????????? Think it through. That sounds more like the accountants talking.

 

I understand that the company needs to make money to keep the game alive. Hell I am a subscriber myself! But don't let the bottom line people ruin what you have started here. You have a chance to keep Star Wars alive for many many years to come.... if you play it smart BioWare. Hell there are STILL servers that have active NeverWinter Nights 1 & 2 (another BioWare game) Worlds in them. Dalelands Beyond being one, I personally know is active.. I play on it.

 

So be smart... make this the MMO that is shaped by Gamers, For Gamers. And 30 years from now there will still be people willing to play it. Do that.. and SWTOR can take it's place next time honored games like Dungeons & Dragons.

Games that have stood the test of time.

 

Darth Avius

I think before you do any of this, you should fix the problem that some people are having which is rejecting some credit cards for no reason. I've used my visa card to purchase hundreds of stuff and MMO's. It is the first time ever that i face a problem using it, I tried to contact you via email but you asked me to call you. I won't wait on the phone for ours to fix YOUR problem, sorry.

 

This resulted in me wanting to subscribe but couldn't, I guess many people have the same problem. This issue should be your number 1 on your list, because you are losing subscribers because of it.

Barbershop...seriously? There are better things you could be dedicating time and effort to (like fixing the known issues that have been around since launch...like the graphical problems in space missions that make my brain bleed)? More and more things seem to be focused on the Cartel Market with less focus on the dedicated subscriber base. I find many of my characters sitting on a ton of credits because there is nothing to spend them on except legacy perks. Here's another idea...let subscribers use in-game credits that we grind at endgame for items. At least then we have something to shoot for as legacy perks become filled. Should also be dedicating more resources to more storyline and growth of characters, 5 levels added in the upcoming expansion will take some of us maybe 3 days to finish...then what?

Well for a 15 month old game its going in a positive direction (atlast) so lets hope the developers keep up the balance of play quality.

Lets all wait and see how the new expansion turns out so we al can have allot of fun in this wonderful game.

Greets all :)

First I think especially for paying players you need to quit milking them for more cash with the cartel market should be able to get all that stuff in game, Secondly as free to play is a great idea you are getting to many people on servers and am finding i am getting heavy population booted so either open more servers or limit the number of free to play players on a server or limit them during high play times.

Hey everyone,

 

Please discuss Jeff Hickman's State of the Game #3 in this thread.

 

as long as jeff hickman has his pink glasses on things wont change.

this studio has so many problembs . bugs lack of customer support. so i would advice the executive producer to finally work the bug out and not like they do recently fix something and break 2 things at the same time

that is not profesional as this studio claims it is.

your words are not supported by your actions jeff hickman try again

I am excited that the game is doing better, no doubt ongoing bugs issues need to be addressed, but I was wondering when we're going to see some epic WAR ZONES you know SWTORS version of Alterac valley or isle of conquest or winter grasp or heck just a WZ big enough to mount up on.. These little Arena WZ's get boring quite quickly. anyone agree?

Very glad to hear a "Barber shop option" although if I may the female hair styles need ALOT of work most are meehh at best. Hood toggle is apreciated add on, now it is just Economic time with all this cartel items why isn't there a "Credit" box that can give you a sum of credits putting the Credit farmers selling out of buisness. Maybe even doubling the credit output on missions. all MMO's will always have those that are rich and make the Auction house to expensive for average players to afford things.

"Last spring, there was some uncertainty surrounding Star Wars™: The Old Republic™ as we were starting to lose subscribers and players were growing frustrated. In fairness, many of the complaints and worries were justified. In an effort to try to address everything, we just weren’t sufficiently focused on improving the core experience.

 

"At the end of the summer, we announced that were going to make the game more enjoyable than ever before by working to improve three key aspects of the game: making it easier to find friends to play with (via Group Finder), increasing the cadence of our content updates (so players wouldn’t have to wait around for new stuff), and bringing back vitality to the game by reaching out to new players via a Free-to-Play option. In addition we introduced some cool new items for everyone to check out via the Cartel Market."

 

Who decided that these three key aspects of the game were the ones needing improvement? I never had any problem finding friends to group with. I DO have a problem with the cadence of content updates because they seem to get released before all the bugs are worked out. I never felt any need to reach out to new players by offering a Free-to-Play option, in fact I was against this. Most of the F2P'ers I have encountered are children with whom I do not care to play with. In some parts of the world, roleplaying (even on a roleplay server) with a minor can subject you to criminal charges. Our guild is "adults only" and I prefer it that way.

 

I don't know which forums the devs are reading, but when I read them I do not come to the same conclusions that these are the three key aspects that needed improvement. F2P was to lure in more subscribers, especially those who cannot obtain a credit card. The Cartel Market is all about cash flow and a way to make the F2P players and subs cough up a few more dollars. I challenge you to show me the thread where F2P was being demanded by the players (when we were all subscribers).

 

If you really want to know where to focus your attention, try this thread called A Thousand Papercuts.

http://www.swtor.com/community/showpost.php?p=5023073&postcount=1

It is conveniently located in the SUGGESTION BOX in the General Discussion Forum.

 

.

Well, I think that the barber shop and the race change things are really cool stuff, and it was about time that they've added it to the game, but the new species.. why cathar? I mean, they are good as troopers and jedies, but i think an imperial cathar is absolutely weird and it's not the best of the races that are unplayable. I think togruta would be much much better, but this is just my personal opinion. One thing this game lacks is proper endgame. I think that the main aim of the game should be improving the quality of the endgame, because I really feel that I can't do anything after I've leveled up to 50.