I feel very sad when reading so many people being personally offended when they don't get a reply from a Dev. I am sorry to say it but you just have to suck it up that you may not have received a unique reponse. That doesn't mean the Dev team is ignoring your or disregarding what you say. If you had thousands of voices shouting at you in a crowded room would you hear everything everyone said? No, you'd probably hear only those closest to you or those standing right in front of you. The exact same thing is with the forums, the Devs have more to do than waiting for you to make that one excellent suggestion. But that doesn't mean you can't discuss it with your fellow players and keep the debate going, that might aid in Bioware taking note of it. But if you start attacking the Devs by saying they ignore you or that they don't care about us, that won't help anybody, not you, not Bioware, not the rest of the players.

I too started multiple threads about various subjects. Did I have the hope they'd get a reply from a Dev? Of course. But did I feel bad or ignored by the Devs when they didn't? Absolutely not! I know they have a lot of things going on and they can't reply to every single thread or message that is being put out here. But the fact they won't always reply doesn't mean they don't read it or take note of it. They also may be working on exactly that suggestion and simply can't comment on it because it will be released in the near future.

Basically, what I would want the players feeling disheartened because they didn't get a reply from Bioware to know is this: it is far more likely there is another more logical reason the Devs didn't respond to you than "they don't care about us, they ignore me, they never listen".

TLDR: it is more likely the Devs didn't respond to your PM/Suggestion/Thread because they are incredibly busy improving the the game FOR US than that they have singled you out to ignore you or any of the other illogical reasons people tend to bring up in the style of "they don't care about us".

I saw the thread, I read the title, the rest wasn't worth my time.

 

 

 

I was,

I did.

I don't care what someone else thought or what is posted here within this minuscule fragment of the player base who post

 

 

 

And I have seen posts with people that like it as I do also.

 

 

 

This I take great offence too, you don't know me and I guarantee you I am NOT easy to please.

I like the stories, could they be better yes of course, I envision a great path for them but I would be surprised if I saw it

 

 

 

I don't care about players, I am a solo'er it makes no difference to me how many are playing or what they are doing.

 

 

 

Has potential but I like the one we have better than this easily

 

 

 

I could do the same, spout out my own ideas for the story but that is pointless and a waste of time, I don't care what you think about my ideas just as I don't care about yours, while it has potential the writing isn't even good enough to be amateur level.

So yes if I had to play your story I would be rather unhappy about it.

So basically what you're admitting to is that you have an obscene level of bias, did see all the people leaving but don't care. In other words you're saying I'm right but you don't care. Good to know. I'm sure that's useful feedback so as to not consider your opinion, since you seem to be very acutely aware you are in the minority and simply don't bother to read things that disagree with you.

We can only give feedback if we know something is being changed, and if we have a good idea on how and why that is happening.

I don't think anyone would have given positive feedback to the changes you made to force user companion saber proficiency, all we can do about it is whine that it happened and beg that it is reversed, we can give you a reasoning of " I really like the FIra vobrosowrds and i wanted all the force user in my crew to have one", but there was nowarning or reasoning before, nor an explanation after.

Some complaints don't really have a reasoning it's all about practicality, having to do all of ziost to unlock the dailies, same for iokath, even worse for the star fortresses, the alliance commanders and eternal championship for KOTFE.

I never bothered with tunings because the system was absurd, all reasoning about it seemed to be ignored, now that logic has prevailed i'm happy, but i will never have any of the old ones because you allow price gouging, plus they are now superrare, i mean you deserve kudos for that but too many people are still left out and have no real drive to congratulate you on a job well done.

Oh wait kudos for that dancefloor and mic decos from the nar shaddaa thing, i hate all that clicking but those decos were well worth it (i'll give you kudos for the comp if he's in a vendor for certs next year).

I certainly don't think the game is in good hands with you. I don't mean to personally attack you but the statement that KoTFE and KoTET are good. They aren't.

I won't waste your time explaining why as some others did lengthy posts on the subject.

 

Sorry to be blunt but this game needs it now. We are past politically correct dialog.

Look at the market, look at what EA is doing with their other SW games, look at the thin budget invested back in SWTOR and you''ll realize how deep in the hole is this game right now. Keith is working in a damage control mode with a budget barely enough to maintain the game.

 

Speaking of longevity your forum name does not rings any bell from Beta even less before it.

Your SWTOR account number reads #4,556,867 whereas mine is #126. Guess I also pretty well know the community. Top of that I've been aware of SWTOR development before it was even announced and have quite some knowledge of behind the scene decisions and issues.

 

Finally I do have my name on a couple of video games so I pretty well much know how games are designed, coded, even marketed and sold.

This is why I have such respect for you Deewe. We don't always agree, but I think we're on the same page more often than not. Good reply.

Hey, I found your PM and I read the original post about the issue, too. Yah, I get your frustration. I will discuss with customer service and follow up with you.

With every post, you are making me happy I came back to this game this month.

Thus far, you're the producer this game has needed from the very beginning, and I wonder what this game could have been had you been here from the start.

Thank you for the huge increase in communication, and being fearless with it by sharing even if you know the community isn't going to be immediately on board.

One question, and its a tough one. I have yet to see any official developer response to the criticisms of the direction of the story starting with KOTFE and going into KOTET. Story feedback was noticeably absent from the feedback posts from you guys thus far.

Do you guys hear the criticism? Is there any plans to address those criticisms? Or in your mind, are you guys just full on committed to a story that has generated some backlash for not being "Star Wars"? Sorry if the question is pointed and leading, but while you guys have been pros so far in addressing everything else, this is the 800 lbs gorilla in the room that isn't getting mentioned. Many people feel KOTFE-era story just dumped on all the story that came before, discarded all the emotional investment in story up until Shadow of Revan, and went off in a very weird and unexplained direction that didn't stay true to the spirit of the story of your character or his/her companions.

Is there any feedback you can share regarding this, and level with me - is this something that is being taken seriously behind the scenes, or is this considered minor - something noted but not very actionable?

This is why I have such respect for you Deewe. We don't always agree, but I think we're on the same page more often than not. Good reply.

As someone who left a little after KOTFE and just came back, can I say something?

I can agree that KOTFE and KOTET's story are just wrong. Bastardizations of the story build up you got through Ziost and Shadow of Revan.

But apart from story (which to me, this was sold as a pillar of the game, so its major to me), I have to say the non-story components of those expansions were pretty amazing to me, now that I am back playing again.

I love it and it all makes sense (to be fair, the one aspect I haven't engaged in is the much maligned Galactic Command, so no comment on that, but everything else I have seen non story has been flat out excellent).

I do agree they have to earn our trust. And given how bad the game has burned the players time and time again under previous producers (Discontinuing Class Stories, No Ops or PVP for a year, The entire storyline of KotFE and KotET which craps all over what you did up through Shadow of Revan), I certainly get the skepticism, and from what I have read, Keith gets it too - and given how slow things can be to turn around in an MMO given what is already in the pipe, transforming our feedback into actionable items in the game, we may not feel like this is a complete change in direction until 6 months to a year from now.

But they have to start somewhere - I hope they don't get discouraged and they are able to turn this game around.

SNIP....

 

SNIP.....

 

Even though it's not perfect, it is no longer the primary means of gearing up, but the changes we implemented allow every level 70 character to obtain BiS gear without doing Operations. I disagree with the notion we should rip it out now, but I do agree we can still improve upon it and will continue to do so.

 

SNIP....

In the case of galactic command, it would have been better to just stop the bus and turn around from the course you set out on. You had the feedback way before it launched even if you were in development of it combined with the dislike of the RNG aspect of it. I feel pretty safe in saying it was generally disliked by most except bw.

So I disagree with you. bw believed RNG was the way to go to prolong subs and who knows what else you talked yourself into believing and did it through GC which is just a joke of a system. Ripping it out would have been best and leaving in the old 4.0 gearing system and expanding it to accomplish the do any content and get gear given thats what you hung on the GC system. The crystal system would do that so much better.

Even though it's not perfect, it is no longer the primary means of gearing up, but the changes we implemented allow every level 70 character to obtain BiS gear without doing Operations. I disagree with the notion we should rip it out now, but I do agree we can still improve upon it and will continue to do so.

 

Does that help?

 

---Keith

I absolutely love where GC and gearing is right now...for PvE.

But PvP is still left in the dark ages of almost pure RNG gearing. I know we have UC's to 'aid' us, but the costs and trade in way of gearing is absolutely killing it. Is there any chance you can double the UC's from PvP or slash the prices in half? PvP shouldn't be as gear dependent as Ops are, and right now, it's even worse than that because we're fighting other players, not static targets. Bolster (in PvP) should boost players to 242 or 246 stats imo...gear gaps need to be closed.

Also...why is the new Tier 1 armor so expensive? Since I can't buy anything for a class other than what I'm on, and the command tokens aren't Legacy wide yet, why make Tier 1 so expensive? It's starter gear...it needs to be able to be purchased for credits imo.

Again, thank you for the continued communication. It's the best it has ever been for this game.

There's a lot to go through here, and I love finding a thread with so many Dev posts!

I am primarily a solo player.

I come from 8.5 years of Star Wars Galaxies and I paid for 5-8 accounts on that game (2 here).

SWG and SWTOR are the ONLY MMOs that I've played long term.

I'm one of the few people that liked the original "StarFox" space PVE missions in this game. I played Beta GSF for all of 4 hours before I decided I'd never play it again (and haven't).

Regarding story, I've always felt the transition to a single story was the wrong direction. As previously mentioned this game was founded on one of the "Four Pillars" being story. This game was, somewhat unofficially, thought of as KOTOR 3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10 with the 8 different class stories as presented by the devs at the time (everyone in the SWTOR panel at Star War Celebration V got that description).

From a player engagement point of view, separate stories make more sense. In order to get the "whole" story you play each class through. That's 8 times at least.

With a single story, you play through once, maybe twice if you want to see the other light/dark side options, and you're done.

It may cost more to make the 8 story version of the game, but I honestly feel you'd get more player satisfaction out of it.

I still have both subscriber accounts ONLY because there isn't another game out there that I want to try out.

The way things are, IF another game comes out, this one will be canceled quickly.

Think about that. I don't play this game out of fun or excitement, but rather that it's the only game out that I find even remotely interesting. Mostly out of habit.

As someone who left a little after KOTFE and just came back, can I say something?

 

I can agree that KOTFE and KOTET's story are just wrong. Bastardizations of the story build up you got through Ziost and Shadow of Revan.

 

But they have to start somewhere - I hope they don't get discouraged and they are able to turn this game around.

NONE of that was Keith's idea...I blame Ben for the entire Ziost/KOTFE/KOTET fiasco. Every bit of it! And for every bit of terrible communication we've suffered through the past 4 years - since Keith, Charles AND Eric, have all posted more in the time that Keith has been in charge, than during the entirety of Ben's reign.

Keith better not get discouraged...he's already done more good for this game in a few months, than Ben did in years. If he starts to stray, I'll be sure to let him know

Since I can't buy anything for a class other than what I'm on, and the command tokens aren't Legacy wide yet

Yes they are.

I have a level 67 toon that has access to Command Tokens, even though I can't buy the gear because it is level 70.

All The Best

Yes they are.

 

I have a level 67 toon that has access to Command Tokens, even though I can't buy the gear because it is level 70.

 

 

All The Best

As of last night, they were not. Where are they on your toons? They aren't in the command stash...so where do I find them?

I certainly don't think the game is in good hands with you. I don't mean to personally attack you but the statement that KoTFE and KoTET are good. They aren't.

I won't waste your time explaining why as some others did lengthy posts on the subject.

 

Sorry to be blunt but this game needs it now. We are past politically correct dialog.

Look at the market, look at what EA is doing with their other SW games, look at the thin budget invested back in SWTOR and you''ll realize how deep in the hole is this game right now. Keith is working in a damage control mode with a budget barely enough to maintain the game.

 

Speaking of longevity your forum name does not rings any bell from Beta even less before it.

Your SWTOR account number reads #4,556,867 whereas mine is #126. Guess I also pretty well know the community. Top of that I've been aware of SWTOR development before it was even announced and have quite some knowledge of behind the scene decisions and issues.

 

Finally I do have my name on a couple of video games so I pretty well much know how games are designed, coded, even marketed and sold.

Where do you find this swtor account number Dewe. I'm curious to see where i got in

Where do you find this swtor account number Dewe. I'm curious to see where i got in

Mouse over you forum name. You're # 594466.

As of last night, they were not. Where are they on your toons? They aren't in the command stash...so where do I find them?

Command token you will find like you did the crystals on the part of the inventory where you find the shards or other various forms of currency and willing to bet if you play like i did you may find you can gear up 2 or 3 characters. I know I was able to gear up 3 others plus my main with what I had. Now working on another one.

Mouse over you forum name. You're # is 594466.

Thanx bud

Every word you type helps and they're all appreciated, even the ones that tell us things we don't want to hear.

 

I absolutely love where GC and gearing is right now...for PvE.

 

But PvP is still left in the dark ages of almost pure RNG gearing. I know we have UC's to 'aid' us, but the costs and trade in way of gearing is absolutely killing it. Is there any chance you can double the UC's from PvP or slash the prices in half? PvP shouldn't be as gear dependent as Ops are, and right now, it's even worse than that because we're fighting other players, not static targets. Bolster (in PvP) should boost players to 242 or 246 stats imo...gear gaps need to be closed.

Throw a bone to us Solo'ers also will ya.

We don't do Ops or PvP so our sole method for gearing is playing the game and that is really slow going.

Most of us don't care about gear or need it but it is nice to get the shinies.

Also...why is the new Tier 1 armor so expensive? Since I can't buy anything for a class other than what I'm on, and the command tokens aren't Legacy wide yet, why make Tier 1 so expensive? It's starter gear...it needs to be able to be purchased for credits imo.

100% agree with this and while you are at it how about easing up a little on some other pain points.

• Lower the cost of the Collectors Edition lvl50 crystals to something approaching reasonable. We already paid for it in cash.
  
• Remove all or most of the cost of removing mods and augements, its just not necessary
  
• Remove the cost of putting on new clothing and outfits
  
• Put in a dye vendor to stop the price gouging at the GTN
  
• Either drop the cost of dyes or make them reusable, nothing is more frustrating that designing a look you can't afford
  
• Bring back old gear more regularly
  
• More direct sales on the CM
  

Again, thank you for the continued communication. It's the best it has ever been for this game.

Hear Hear!!

Thank you for replying about my issue. I look forward to a resolution.

Command token you will find like you did the crystals on the part of the inventory where you find the shards or other various forms of currency.

And that's Legacy wide now? So if I claim them all from my main toons stash, every toon I have has access to them in the currency tab?

NONE of that was Keith's idea...I blame Ben for the entire Ziost/KOTFE/KOTET fiasco. Every bit of it! And for every bit of terrible communication we've suffered through the past 4 years - since Keith, Charles AND Eric, have all posted more in the time that Keith has been in charge, than during the entirety of Ben's reign.

 

Keith better not get discouraged...he's already done more good for this game in a few months, than Ben did in years. If he starts to stray, I'll be sure to let him know

Agreed - none of that was Keith - hence why I am back.

But my concern is that they keep going down a path set for them by a less than adequate former producer, at least in a story sense.

And that's Legacy wide now? So if I claim them all from my main toons stash, every toon I have has access to them in the currency tab?

Yes

But its 900 of them for one full set of the starter gear.

Ridiculous price as the total goes up so slowly.

(at least for me)

Throw a bone to us Solo'ers also will ya.

We don't do Ops or PvP so our sole method for gearing is playing the game and that is really slow going.

Most of us don't care about gear or need it but it is nice to get the shinies.

Yes

But its 900 of them for one full set of the starter gear.

Ridiculous price as the total goes up so slowly.

(at least for me)

I did not know that, thank you...I buy far too many CXP boosts it seems >.<

Where along the journey is the point of no return. Is it before the bus starts moving, before the bus approaches the corner, before the cliff, as you drive go off the cliff or when you crash?

Timing is everything, but sometimes it will depend on implementation and whether we can truly do an about face or simply have to go forward and plan/prepare for changes along the way. Galactic Command is a perfect example. It was so integral to everything with Knights of the Eternal Throne (KOTET), that we were not in a position to make the changes everyone requested. We had to go forward or delay KOTET an unknown number of months. That wasn't possible, and as a result, we have made GC changes with every patch since that time.

---Keith

Hi Keith,

Please allow me to disagree with your statement above. It happens I was in the Beta for that one and without breaking the NDA you guys knew early enough the GC implementation needed tweaking regarding the overwhelming consensus. So while it would certainly have been a nightmare to ditch it or replace it, a couple of tweaking here and there would have quite mitigated the issue.

We both know changing the CXP rate, the number of Command ranks or even making CXP legacy wide don't take that much time to edit. You could even have made it so players don't get duplicate easily.

Not sure if it was Ben or James who said it but I remember pretty well one of them mentioning in an interview that even with the bad feedback they decided to go live and try out. They thought the majority of the player would love the GC once live. And they realized they were wrong.

Now speaking of the change, you guys really did not get the urgency of the change required. You took months to start adjusting the system and yet it's far from good. It's still a hassle to play multiple characters. You don't really encourage it and the numbers of ranks required for those not into OPS is way too high.

Also the new system is much more complex than the 3 tiers of token we had before. You guys even messed up with the naming convention.

Speaking of constructive feedback and Why, here's a couple to feed your team. Thing is I'm pretty sure everything mentioned there is pretty well known by your team. If not then I'm truly worried for SWTOR future to be honest.