I don't know if it is the only one but this game is not even close to being the same game as it was on release. The game has grown so much that I find it to be the best one around IMO. I play a few others, WoW, Wild Star, and tried out some others but, this game is the one that keeps me the most entertained.

I am looking forward to the future of the game and I hope that now that it is doing so much better that we can actually get some new classes and races other than the basic humans with recolored skins. EA/BW has made enough on this game that would should and deserve a sizable expansion. They should reward the player base because we have been loyal to them and helped make this game grow.

New advanced classes would be something to add as well. We also should have max level dailies and events on every planet to make each planet worth going back to for everyone. But that is just what I think we deserve since we have spent our hard earned money to keep this game alive. We need rewarded for our efforts.

Didn't something similar happen with Rift as well?

I have no idea what the state of the game was (or currently is) but from what I've heard people discuss, it's better than it used to be plus it's profitable.

As for SWTOR, I'll never stop believing it went F2P way too fast. EA panicked and they did the only thing they are excellent at doing: give up. More and better content would've saved the game but it would've taken more time and investment to do that, so they chose the "easy" way of introducing a shop.

Which, by the way, if it had existed from day 1, there would've been no need for F2P.

Didn't something similar happen with Rift as well?

I have no idea what the state of the game was (or currently is) but from what I've heard people discuss, it's better than it used to be plus it's profitable.

 

As for SWTOR, I'll never stop believing it went F2P way too fast. EA panicked and they did the only thing they are excellent at doing: give up. More and better content would've saved the game but it would've taken more time and investment to do that, so they chose the "easy" way of introducing a shop.

Which, by the way, if it had existed from day 1, there would've been no need for F2P.

From what I've heard, Rift isn't faring too hot. It may be profitable, but its subscription/player numbers are a fraction of even SWTOR's, and I've heard (though can't confirm personally) that most of the servers feel "dead" in terms of folks online at any given time.

Interesting argument. Whether EA hit the 'F2P button' too soon. On one hand, I'd agree ... but man, the game did hemorrhage players in early '12 and they did invest a LOT of money into the game. So, hard call I think on that point.

But ... what matters now, IMO at least, is how the game is NOW. Where it is going TO. And, as far as I can see, the present is good and the future is looking bright. So, I'm happy and entertained.

Interesting argument. Whether EA hit the 'F2P button' too soon. On one hand, I'd agree ... but man, the game did hemorrhage players in early '12 and they did invest a LOT of money into the game. So, hard call I think on that point.

 

But ... what matters now, IMO at least, is how the game is NOW. Where it is going TO. And, as far as I can see, the present is good and the future is looking bright. So, I'm happy and entertained.

totally agreeing with you.

SWTOR didn't just get back its player base, it attracted folks like me -- Star Wars fans who never played an MMO. I've learned a lot about MMOs playing SWTOR, but I'm still not interested in playing another MMO. I want to wander the galaxy fighting for, or against, the Republic or the Empire.

Being Star Wars, and F2P, got me curious enough to try the game. No $$$ cost. The class stories, the graphics, the music, the XS Freighter -- the well done Star Wars of it all got me to stay, and subscribe.

Which reminds me ...

Dear BW,

Sorry about the frustration-fueled nerd rage emails I sent you while I was learning to play. Bygones.

XXOO

Nmyownworld

The game is definitely doing well and came back from the brink which is completely deserved as BW did mostly very good work on the game. FFXIV is also a historic turnaround for any MMO.

I am also quite satisfied to see games such as Wildstar or GW2 which are hyped to the heavens by Swtor haters before they come out and turn out to be marginal at best in terms of player retention and impact on Swtor.

Hopefully, the game keeps getting better and attracting more people.

Stable community? what's that irony?

Don't know how the game is doing financially but it is on a pretty bad state regarding pve period.

yes it is pretty full of newbies who can't complete an operation but i think they'll return to school this month so lets see next tuesday regarding strongholds but dont have too much hope.

Actually, what really happened is that the game was never close to dying. They never gave out numbers. It's just that players, especially forum members, figured they were experts on game design, programming, mathematics, business development, and economics plus had the unique ability to discern the state of the game from cryptic phrases appearing in EA reports to investors or some obscure game zine that had a writer with a similar bent of believing in his ability to interpret the runes and see the future without access to any real facts.

Then it became excruciatingly obvious to even detractors that the game was actually doing well with more level-headed players pointing out the few observable statistics they were able to glean from the press, especially those who had no bone to pick with EA or BW and were just reporting the facts. The game itself has changed very little since launch, and many of the changes, e.g. The Cartel Market, were met with universal disdain by all the economics experts predicting dire ruin and lamenting "credit sinks." How dare they? But the game just kept rumbling along and now those claims of "dying off" are themselves dying off as the refrain is getting pretty frayed around the edges.

The whole issue, though perhaps exacerbated by EA's tight-lipped refusal to divulge company confidential information (something not mandated nor performed by many companies worldwide anyway), is the result ov overactive imaginations and doomsday prophecies of people already proven to immerse themselves in a complete fantasy world anyway.

Actually, what really happened is that the game was never close to dying. They never gave out numbers. It's just that players, especially forum members, figured they were experts on game design, programming, mathematics, business development, and economics plus had the unique ability to discern the state of the game from cryptic phrases appearing in EA reports to investors or some obscure game zine that had a writer with a similar bent of believing in his ability to interpret the runes and see the future without access to any real facts.

 

Then it became excruciatingly obvious to even detractors that the game was actually doing well with more level-headed players pointing out the few observable statistics they were able to glean from the press, especially those who had no bone to pick with EA or BW and were just reporting the facts. The game itself has changed very little since launch, and many of the changes, e.g. The Cartel Market, were met with universal disdain by all the economics experts predicting dire ruin and lamenting "credit sinks." How dare they? But the game just kept rumbling along and now those claims of "dying off" are themselves dying off as the refrain is getting pretty frayed around the edges.

 

The whole issue, though perhaps exacerbated by EA's tight-lipped refusal to divulge company confidential information (something not mandated nor performed by many companies worldwide anyway), is the result ov overactive imaginations and doomsday prophecies of people already proven to immerse themselves in a complete fantasy world anyway.

That explains why I could log into fleet and there would only be myself....and rarely one other person. Imagine Imp fleet all to myself. Which lies the real issue at the beginning. They opened up too many servers to account for all the people playing....then alot of people left and they had way too many servers open.

Actually, what really happened is that the game was never close to dying. They never gave out numbers. It's just that players, especially forum members, figured they were experts on game design, programming, mathematics, business development, and economics plus had the unique ability to discern the state of the game from cryptic phrases appearing in EA reports to investors or some obscure game zine that had a writer with a similar bent of believing in his ability to interpret the runes and see the future without access to any real facts.

 

Then it became excruciatingly obvious to even detractors that the game was actually doing well with more level-headed players pointing out the few observable statistics they were able to glean from the press, especially those who had no bone to pick with EA or BW and were just reporting the facts. The game itself has changed very little since launch, and many of the changes, e.g. The Cartel Market, were met with universal disdain by all the economics experts predicting dire ruin and lamenting "credit sinks." How dare they? But the game just kept rumbling along and now those claims of "dying off" are themselves dying off as the refrain is getting pretty frayed around the edges.

 

The whole issue, though perhaps exacerbated by EA's tight-lipped refusal to divulge company confidential information (something not mandated nor performed by many companies worldwide anyway), is the result ov overactive imaginations and doomsday prophecies of people already proven to immerse themselves in a complete fantasy world anyway.

Sorry but you are wrong.

The game was in very, very bad shape by summer 2012.

Most servers were ghost towns and more than a million players had left and the game was still hemorrhaging subs. If F2P hadn't been a success, I am 100% sure EA would have closed down the game or switched it to maintenance mode.

Sorry but you are wrong.

 

The game was in very, very bad shape by summer 2012.

 

Most servers were ghost towns and more than a million players had left and the game was still hemorrhaging subs. If F2P hadn't been a success, I am 100% sure EA would have closed down the game or switched it to maintenance mode.

You're wrong too. The truth is, as it is most time, in the middle.

Some servers were low population in 2012, but popular servers like Harbinger and Jedi Covenant were doing fine. The game was making money, but EA saw an opportunity to make much more money going F2P, so they did. As it happens they wound up being right and SWTOR is making a good amount of money.

You're wrong too. The truth is, as it is most time, in the middle.

 

Some servers were low population in 2012, but popular servers like Harbinger and Jedi Covenant were doing fine. The game was making money, but EA saw an opportunity to make much more money going F2P, so they did. As it happens they wound up being right and SWTOR is making a good amount of money.

Considering that their break even point was 500K subs and the speed at which they were losing them, they would have dipped well below that had they not gone F2P. Plus, EA's goal with Swtor was never to break even or to make a small profit, they did not invest 200-400 millions to get a small ROI.

My point stands, the game was in very bad shape (most servers dead, most of the staff fired, no communication whatsoever from the dev team, EA not even mentioning Swtor in their earnings reports...) and was very likely headed for an early death is F2P hadn't occurred and been done well.

Somewhere out there MrJurgens' head is exploding over and over again with every post about the game not dying back in 2012 or being in a pretty good place today.

And he's probably looking for his credit card so he can create yet another "Tortanic" account to let us know exactly how he feels about this thread.

Somewhere out there MrJurgens' head is exploding over and over again with every post about the game not dying back in 2012 or being in a pretty good place today.

And he's probably looking for his credit card so he can create yet another "Tortanic" account to let us know exactly how he feels about this thread.

He's probably trolling some other MMO's forums trying to give a meaning to his sad life.

You're wrong too. The truth is, as it is most time, in the middle.

No, you are wrong, don't know about harbinger but jedi covenant is in pretty bad shape. I'm talking specifically about Flashpoints and operations here, don't know about the other aspects of the game though.

This community hasn't been the same since the fall of Jurgens.

He helped to support a game he supposedly reviled. People are weird.

That explains why I could log into fleet and there would only be myself....and rarely one other person. Imagine Imp fleet all to myself. Which lies the real issue at the beginning. They opened up too many servers to account for all the people playing....then alot of people left and they had way too many servers open.

According to you. The fleet count seems to hover at 170+ players per instance and hasn't varied in three years. That BW had "too many servers" at one time does not mean "the game was dying." It means they had "too many servers." That's an example of taking a factoid and blowing it up into a major event. It's like predicting who will win the Super Bowl based on the results of the first exhibition game. (The Seahawks lost.) These folks who say, "Sorry, but you are wrong. The game was in very bad shape." are not showing any evidence. It's just part of their overall fantasy of belief taken from reading tea leaves, consulting the Oracle at Delphi (which said, "SW will undergo changes."), or paying Madam Zolar at the State Fair, who told them they had very pretty eyes.

You'll notice that even a few months ago the "game is dying" refrain was running strong. Now that it is, as I said, 'excruciatingly obvious' that is not the case, the same folks say, "Well, the game WAS dying, so I'm still right." What's driving this? The need to be right in the face of contrary evidence. The only way to pull it off is to claim they were right, but "conditions have changed." What? Makeb? The despised Cartel Market? F2P? What, you despise a ship because it adjusts its course? It would seem a prudent thing to do.

It doesn't really matter of "people have left the game." People SHOULD leave the game and leave it more often. Some people deserve Wildstar more than others, and it would be best for all concerned if they hung out there rather than here. It's right up their alley because, you know, "Wildstar is dying." The same people who complain that SW is dying are the ones who complain about lag in the game and fail to notice the contradiction.

No, you are wrong, don't know about harbinger but jedi covenant is in pretty bad shape. I'm talking specifically about Flashpoints and operations here, don't know about the other aspects of the game though.

I've had a drastically different experience since returning to JC, but I play healer, so I rarely have a wait on anything. Unless you're referring to specifically HM/NM Operations I always see groups forming. Faction issue?

I've had a drastically different experience since returning to JC, but I play healer, so I rarely have a wait on anything. Unless you're referring to specifically HM/NM Operations I always see groups forming. Faction issue?

Well in part yes, republic side has been more affected but empire is not the panacea either. So you only have 1 toon healer... .you need to play more even try to rise a dps to get the right feeling of this game currently.

Operations and flashpoints are not popping each minute like in the old times.

I mean maybe as a demanded healer you see the game in pretty good shape but it is not, at least not as good as EpickFaill is describing it lol.

fun fact did you know that the vision the oracle at delipi had were due to the fact the well water they drank was toxic?

It's Delphi, Pythia didn't have visions she was supposedly possessed by Apollo and he spoke through her and lastly she didn't drink the water during the ritual she inhaled the toxic fumes from the Kerna spring - bathing and drinking the water was a different ritual - and all these are completely off topic.