they shouldn't be part of CM to begin with.

 

Could somebody writing yellow explain how do they plan to fix the fact that story cutscenes are obtainable via packs?

They're completely optional. They offer an extra little glimpse into the motivation behind the Shroud's actions, but are in no way required to appreciate the main story to it's full extent.

While I understand the removal of the credit booms, the BoP XP boosts is taking it a little overboard. Why? What's wrong with me running these cubes on an alt to get XP boosts to trade to a specific alt I'm pushing towards 55? There is literally no point to unlocking these at the current point in time. Valor boosts? Maybe. The credit booms and XP boosts were pretty much the only reason for unlocking these in collections.

In short, BioWare, you had better make the "special reward" for collecting all 8 worth worth the effort and money spent to collect these damn things. If we spent all this money to collect the cubes for a lame reward, then there will likely be backlash. SO make it like a unique set or armor or a speeder or something. Something to justify the money spent.

EDIT: Two suggestions.

1) Put a level requirement on the quests and restore the rewards. Like maybe require level 20+ to take and complete the quests. This way you don't have people creating endless alts and rushing their ships for free credits.

2) An extra cosmetic reason to collect the cubes. Either let them transform into a little fluff item that lets us say hold our character's hands out and we could see the cube float above them (looking like mini versions of the various holocrons out there) or add a pedestal to the ship that displays the cube in all it's shiny glory. Something to make them not feel so incredibly useless now.

I'd like to suggest you give the credit boom to only level 55 players. There are plenty of people who don't care about the valor boost and I already have enough unneeded bound xp boosts on my 55 characters.

I legacy unlocked it right away with cartel coins and that's after spending the money on hypercrates, I'd like a reward I can actually use on my 55s please.

Could somebody writing yellow explain how do they plan to fix the fact that story cutscenes are obtainable via packs?

It's faux story cutscenes. They have no playable context in the game itself and are not required. As such they are fluff. They are simply a different novelty item from the CM, and interesting to collectors IMO.

Now, you could argue that they are so worthless and that you'd rather have a gold plated butter knife for your smuggler or agent.... but that is arguing fluff over fluff.

I'd like a reward I can actually use on my 55s please.

People get random items from packs all the time that they cannot use (or consider worthless). Why does this one deserve special consideration?

Sincere question.

 

Why? It does not fix the exploit for credits. Because if they are not bound... then players will still exploit by selling them to other players.

 

That said.. the smart move by Bioware is to make a Bind_to_Legacy version of XP boosts and use that in this case. There are other cases where BtL xp boosts also make sense in this game too.

It's faux story cutscenes. They have no playable context in the game itself and are not required. As such they are fluff. They are simply a different novelty item from the CM, and interesting to collectors IMO.

 

Now, you could argue that they are so worthless and that you'd rather have a gold plated butter knife for your smuggler or agent.... but that is arguing fluff over fluff.

Ahh, I missed you Andryah, where have you been whole last week? They are not fluff. They were not made by CM team, they add quest to your log, I can't wear them, show them to other players (I consider this fluff). And above all, they add lore to the game.

All of this is already discussed on the 20+ page thread about this issue.

People get random items from packs all the time that they cannot use (or consider worthless). Why does this one deserve special consideration?

 

Sincere question.

Because I paid Cartel coins to unlock this quest Legacy wide for them to use...which I wouldn't have done with zero reward honestly.

Another thing I thought about on this is that while the no credit boom is going to discourage level 55s from getting this, at least until we know what the 'prize' is for collecting all 8 (would it hurt to tell us what that might be?) these cubes won't make any sense to lower level players.

All this stuff about The Shroud and the Hutts and Makeb is going to have no context for them, but you are setting it up so that the rewards from the cubes are really only of benefit to lower level players. It makes no sense.

This fix needs a fix.

they shouldn't be part of CM to begin with.

^ THIS ^

Ahh, I missed you Andryah, where have you been whole last week? They are not fluff. They were not made by CM team, they add quest to you log, I can't wear them, show them to other players (I consider this fluff). And above all, they add lore to the game.

 

All of this is already discussed on the 20+ page thread about this issue.

And ^ THIS ^. While I agree with Andryah on many things, this I do not.

Cubes might seem "fluffy", but there is the undeniable fact that add some lore and quests (playable content), so people have the right to be concerned with what this might bring (CM only quests, flashpoints, and other sorts of playable content). I would like to see a yellow assurance that the cubes are as far as they will go, and possibly after they finish whatever they plan with them, do not repeat that.

Because I paid Cartel coins to unlock this quest Legacy wide for them to use...which I wouldn't have done with zero reward honestly.

Well, it wouldn't be the first or last time BW changes something that people already paid for with real money. But they can do it. Should they? Probably not (or give back CC).

So in other words you didn't think it through that players with 12 Characters would take a item that can be traded via the collection and use it on all of their characters?

 

Players weren't being "crafty or using "exploitive behavior", they were simply using the system that you have in place.

^^ This.

I have 16 toons, all of them way above the level needed to get to Nar Shaddaa and since I would NEVER consider it to be an called an "exploit", I only did the datacubes thing on 5 of them. In other words, I just lost almost 2(!!!) million credits in-game, just because... I have too many alts and even had to unlock character slots to have so many.

Way to go, Bioware; You really make me feel good about the time and money I spend on your game.

EDIT:

Also, though I'm fairly sure someone may have mentioned it, you do need to do the Origin and Capital Worlds in order to get to Nar Shaddaa so how the hell this is considered an exploit is beyond me. Do people actually create and delete toons for just 200k? Seriously?

It's faux story cutscenes. They have no playable context in the game itself and are not required. As such they are fluff. They are simply a different novelty item from the CM, and interesting to collectors IMO.

 

Now, you could argue that they are so worthless and that you'd rather have a gold plated butter knife for your smuggler or agent.... but that is arguing fluff over fluff.

omg andryah i was really expecting you would not touch this subject because no matter how many arguments you bring, those 4 cutscenes are not "Fluff", no matter how many beautiful words you try to use to cover you lack of argument, those cubes should not be on CM, it is Story, its a quest that requires you to go to a place, it gives insigh about the shroud and its very interesting, its fall under the category of side quest, just like all makeb, its not required, its also faux, we do not need it to advance our personal story, just like i avoided balmorra,hoth,correlian and voss on my shadow and went even makeb and went straight to lv 55, its Story and it SHOULD not be on the CM, no Planet quest is required to advance, you can always pvp or do something else, please stop using these same "faux" arguments that HyFy was bringing all the time.

I was reading a lot of negativity about the cubes being "story content" and having to be paid for. I looked at it as similar to a special edition version of a movie. You can watch the movie just fine without it, or pay a little extra and get deleted/bonus scenes and such. The Credit Boom reward I thought was great, and I immediately purchased the cubes I didn't get in my hypercrate and unlocked it on my legacy (like many others did).

I agree that changing an item that was paid for with real money (for the unlocks) after it has already been released is not a good path to go down. Also, with said item taking the rare slot in cartel packs it appears to be an even larger issue with a lot of people (including myself). If some people had found a way to create a new character and move them off the starter planet before completing the story to get the Credit Boom (and thus farm money very fast), then I understand the reaction to wanting to remove the Credit Boom. However, it is very hard to put a genie back into a lamp once it is released. My suggestion (similar to one I already saw), is to restore the Credit Boom, but put a level requirement on the cube. Don't allow a character to use the cube and get the quest until they have reached the minimum level for Nar Shadda. That way, even if someone could get a toon to Nar Shadda, they would not be able to use the cube (and get the Credit Boom) until they had properly leveled their character.

200K credits (and more when the next set comes out) is not usually a huge amount to a level 55 toon, but it would be very useful for a lower level toon that is being leveled up. I would see that as a win/win situation. You get to keep the Credit Boom in to keep players happy, but they have to put in the effort to get it and thus keep playing.

I would love to hear your thoughts on this, Eric. I'm not asking for a confirm/denial that it will be looked or changed, but just if you feel something like this would be a fair balance between your concerns and the player's concerns.

People get random items from packs all the time that they cannot use (or consider worthless). Why does this one deserve special consideration?

 

Sincere question.

I think mainly because it used to have a more viable reward for 55s. And it can tend to sting when something that was useful, is no longer so.

IMO the BoP XP boosts was a bit overboard. But so long as the reward from collecting all 8 is nice (Like a cool looking unique adaptive armor set, or a unique and cool looking speeder) Then the cubes will still have plenty enough value. Even with their gimped rewards. And so long as the reward from getting all 8 requires completing all 8 on a character so that unlocking the cubes is still a viable option (Instead of completing the quests once and just unlocking the reward in collections. Which in essence would be cheaper and convenient, but would make those of us who unlocked the first four cubes feel a tab bit ripped off)

Because I paid Cartel coins to unlock this quest Legacy wide for them to use...which I wouldn't have done with zero reward honestly.

So... you are only in it for the rewards then? I see.

omg andryah i was really expecting you would not touch this subject because no matter how many arguments you bring, those 4 cutscenes are not "Fluff", no matter how many beautiful words you try to use to cover you lack of argument, those cubes should not be on CM, it is Story, its a quest that requires you to go to a place, it gives insigh about the shroud and its very interesting, its fall under the category of side quest, just like all makeb, its not required, its also faux, we do not need it to advance our personal story, just like i avoided balmorra,hoth,correlian and voss on my shadow and went even makeb and went straight to lv 55, its Story and it SHOULD not be on the CM, no Planet quest is required to advance, you can always pvp or do something else, please stop using these same "faux" arguments that HyFy was bringing all the time.

Do they unlock special mission chains that give you access to new content and rewards that people who do not have them are denied? Huh? Do they? Do they?

I will wait patiently while you describe objectively what playable content they add to the game that is denied to others.

Protip: a stand alone cutscene =/= content or rewards.... though I grant that Lore Lovers who collect lore will like them. But that is true of all lore in this game. The lore is not a requirement to play the game or progress in the game. Lore is Lore. But somehow I don't detect that you are a lore collector.

Ahh, I missed you Andryah, where have you been whole last week? They are not fluff. They were not made by CM team, they add quest to your log, I can't wear them, show them to other players (I consider this fluff). And above all, they add lore to the game.

 

All of this is already discussed on the 20+ page thread about this issue.

Lore is not playable content. It is fluff that you can admire and immerse yourself in for sure. Then again, so are the armor skins that are CM only.

Fluff is fluff. I'm not saying fluff is not valued by players. It is to many. But it is still fluff. Fluff adds immersion elements to an MMO for players, but it does not provide playable content or progression paths and progression dependencies into the MMO. There is a difference.

Do they unlock special mission chains that give you access to new content and rewards that people who do not have them are denied? Huh? Do they? Do they?

 

I will wait patiently while you describe objectively what playable content they add to the game that is denied to others.

 

Protip: a stand alone cutscene =/= content or rewards.... though I grant that Lore Lovers who collect lore will like them. But that is true of all lore in this game. The lore is not a requirement to play the game or progress in the game. Lore is Lore. But somehow I don't detect that you are a lore collector.

So we agree that it is lore and not fluff. And this is the only argument needed in discussion if this should be in the CM.

Protip: a stand alone cutscene =/= content or rewards.... though I grant that Lore Lovers who collect lore will like them. But that is true of all lore in this game. The lore is not a requirement to play the game or progress in the game. Lore is Lore.

Yet, one of the biggest ongoing issues we've had since launch, revolves directly around "cut-scenes". I find it ironic that even you Andryah, would classify a cut-scene as "content" when it comes to telling players to SPACEBAR through them, yet, if it's sold as a cartel item, it's suddenly "fluff".

So... you are only in it for the rewards then? I see.

Excuse me? After having the story on one character and buying something on the cartel market, why else do you Legacy unlock something? So you will have the reward on another character...that's what legacy unlocks are for. Yes, I paid money to have the quests and their REWARDS on all my characters. You're really going to try to shame me for that?

Do they unlock special mission chains that give you access to new content and rewards that people who do not have them are denied? Huh? Do they? Do they?

 

I will wait patiently while you describe objectively what playable content they add to the game that is denied to others.

 

Protip: a stand alone cutscene =/= content or rewards.... though I grant that Lore Lovers who collect lore will like them. But that is true of all lore in this game. The lore is not a requirement to play the game or progress in the game. Lore is Lore. But somehow I don't detect that you are a lore collector.

oh you are so wrong, SO wrong, first off i am one, i even read all the freaking email the companions and NPC send and as we speak i am 4 classes to finish the story of this(two of them are finishing chapter 1, engeneering studend here< i do not have as much time i would have liked), they are lore and stand alone cutscene that provides Information about the story of the game/npcs/watvevs is CONTENT, it has the Shroud speaking and giving insigh on his objectives and if i am not mistaken thats what we do in all the story quest rights? we go in for the story to listen to those npcs and to learn whats going on thats the fourth pillar of this game, so those cubes have content, its 4 now, but i bet that are WAY more to come, which is obviously the Shroud personal datalogs, which is being sold on the CM, just by the fact that you have to go to a place to click on the objective to trigger that, are you sure that does not remind you of anything? are you sure? because some companions have quest JUST like that, you go in a planet, sometimes fight or not, on the JK you do not, you go there and see kira talking to someone then you leave, it is a cutscene, its extra and lore, same deal as the cube.

Lore is not playable content. It is fluff that you can admire and immerse yourself in for sure. Then again, so are the armor skins that are CM only.

 

Fluff is fluff. I'm not saying fluff is not valued by players. It is to many. But it is still fluff. Fluff adds immersion elements to an MMO for players, but it does not provide playable content or progression paths and progression dependencies into the MMO. There is a difference.

it is playable content, we have to go to Nar shaddaa, the travel alone is playable, are you telling that many of the companions quests are Fluff? if lore is fluff then the whole freaking game is fluff, read what you are typing lol.

Do they provide you with a codex entry? If not then it is fluff and not worth going into rabid rages over.

i am sorry but does all of the quests in this game provides a Codex lol?