I do think out there are many more people that support this cause than we think, they're just not posting here. I do think a well moderated FB page could be worth thinking about, but it would need constant moderation. FB was made for trolling, it really sometimes seems that way. Gotta rush to work now, argh.

I've also thrown going to FB in. If we do that we need should go the dual way, have an open page, perhaps take turns moderating it, and a closed group, where we can let of some steam amongst our own (we can invite avid supporters). The good thing about FB though is that it's more easily moderated, you can report posts, and hate speech is in there (I've unfortunately have had to deal with hate speech on my wall) and there are serious consequences to it, whoever posts hateful stuff will get a warning in their email and it can quite easily lead to account suspension. Facebook thankfully doesn't hide behind "but it's the internet!".

Addit: Another good thing about an FB page is that if you've got moderating privileges for it, you can post in name of the page, and can keep your personal accounts out of it. I know some people are understandably concerned about the hate speech they might get on their personal timelines, but we can have a fairly large group of elevated privileges to keep your identity safe.

Addit2: I don't have twitter; has anyone thought of tweeting @sera_brennan?

Provide link to relevant information, please.

Anyone have the quote from the guild summit where they specifically said this year , I'm getting ready for work and don't have time to look for it.

Anyone have the quote from the guild summit where they specifically said this year , I'm getting ready for work and don't have time to look for it.

From the SGR Timeline:

It is coming and it is coming with story updates. It is something that depends on the writers and we want to do right, and writers have a long lead time. We did not want to just change all the dialogue for the other gender. That is not writing, that is not story telling. This was cut originally because of budget and time issues. We have designs, we know what romance options we want to put in for this. It is coming when full story comes, and full story is coming this year. We are still on track.

Another of those days...

For those asking for a link to the Daniel Erickson quote from the Guild Summit, I'll just post the

Edit: FAQ has been updated with the video link.

SGRA - Bioware states that they are coming, but they aren't sure exactly when.

 

Space Project - Bioware states that it's coming, but they don't know exactly when.

 

Level increase - Bioware states that it's coming, but they don't know exactly when.

 

Mekeb - Bioware states that it's coming, but they don't know exactly when.

 

Chapter 4 -Bioware states that it's coming, but they don't know exactly when.

 

 

There are tons of features that Bioware has stated are in the works that they don't have a firm date for.

That's not really the issue (for me at least).

The problem is: they won't answer simple questions such as "Can I complete SGRA content with a level 50 character or do I have to re-roll?" or "Will SGRA content be available for each class/gender combination?"

This lack of knowledge is possibly preventing people from playing characters.

Those aren't issues for the other items mentioned (Ch. 4, Makeb, level increase will obviously be with level 50s and will be available to each class/gender....Space Missions can be completed at any level and are available to all).

I really don't need a hard ETA but knowing how to prepare my characters would be nice.

i think many people here are looking to hard into the idea that bw/ea are not implementing SGR'S yet for reason of homosexuality or wotever and failing to look at the more obvious reason. firstly if bw/ea were leaving it out for that reason me series and dragon age 1-2 wouldnt have had them in either.

the main reason they havnt come yet is because of writer staff changes and also trying to decide how to implement them. some seem to think its just an easy thing to add buts its not. IF they go down the root of adding SGR to the current companions they will have to get every voice actor/actress into the studio to record new content specifically for this. then they have to implement it into the coding. then they have to find out a way to think how are we going to get are playerbase who have hit lvl 50 already and don the companion quests able to maybe change there relationship now they have the option to romance the companion they may have wanted to but couldnt coz of the lack of SGR'S. it is also possible that they may decide only to add it to new companions that will surely come in the future making it easier to all people to utilize it if they wish by ending a relationship is possible to romance a new companion thats the same gender so theres many reasons why this hasnt added yet.

the last possible reason could be that they didnt expect to go f2p or at least go ftp so early so it have pushed back a timetable im sure they had for things meaning others got delayed indefinatly.

but to sum up i doubt the reasons people here are suggesting are true, there has also been protests from parents who are clearly against such relationships not wanting there kids exposed to it but are quite happy if there kids are sith to be torturing and murdering people but be dammed if there kids are playing a game that has SGR like they have to play it and a good parent would monter wot the young kid is doing anyway. this is just my thoughts tho

That's not really the issue (for me at least).

 

The problem is: they won't answer simple questions such as "Can I complete SGRA content with a level 50 character or do I have to re-roll?" or "Will SGRA content be available for each class/gender combination?"

 

This lack of knowledge is possibly preventing people from playing characters.

 

Those aren't issues for the other items mentioned (Ch. 4, Makeb, level increase will obviously be with level 50s and will be available to each class/gender....Space Missions can be completed at any level and are available to all).

 

I really don't need a hard ETA but knowing how to prepare my characters would be nice.

They likely don't know yet. I mean, if I asked if my existing ship parts would work for the secret space project, or will I need new ones, do you think they would answer? Even if they did know the answer, most new content (like SGR) is kept under wraps for a reason. They don't want anyone to beat them to the punch on ideas until they're able to really show what they're bringing out and also when they're going to do so. A lot of people want answers about content they're waiting on. Bioware isn't giving ANYONE answers because no company EVER does until they can. What you're asking for really is unreasonable. I'm not saying not to ask for updates, because people do that with all upcoming features, but the fact that you're writing in to activist groups for answers that Bioware likely have NDA's on is ridiculous.

And to the person saying SGR was coming in 2012, they also said Makeb, level cap increase, etc was coming this year and since it's December and those things aren't on the test server, it doesn't look like it's going to happen. Which doesn't mean it's never going to. Just like with SGR, it will likely happen at some point. People need to be patient.

Also, if you're not playing the game because of this feature, you're missing out over nothing. The romances are very poorly done. Spend 100K on gifts, max out the affection and then you get 3 or 4 scenes where you kiss and say that you love the other person. It's literally less than 5 minutes.

They likely don't know yet. I mean, if I asked if my existing ship parts would work for the secret space project, or will I need new ones, do you think they would answer? Even if they did know the answer, most new content (like SGR) is kept under wraps for a reason. They don't want anyone to beat them to the punch on ideas until they're able to really show what they're bringing out and also when they're going to do so. A lot of people want answers about content they're waiting on. Bioware isn't giving ANYONE answers because no company EVER does until they can. What you're asking for really is unreasonable. I'm not saying not to ask for updates, because people do that with all upcoming features, but the fact that you're writing in to activist groups for answers that Bioware likely have NDA's on is ridiculous.

 

 

And to the person saying SGR was coming in 2012, they also said Makeb, level cap increase, etc was coming this year and since it's December and those things aren't on the test server, it doesn't look like it's going to happen. Which doesn't mean it's never going to. Just like with SGR, it will likely happen at some point. People need to be patient.

 

Also, if you're not playing the game because of this feature, you're missing out over nothing. The romances are very poorly done. Spend 100K on gifts, max out the affection and then you get 3 or 4 scenes where you kiss and say that you love the other person. It's literally less than 5 minutes.

Yes, they're not telling us things because a bunch of other MMOs that have companion romances will pick that idea up and do it the same way. Oh wait... there aren't a bunch of other MMOs that have companion romances. In fact, I can't even think of one. That said, there aren't a bunch of other MMOs that have space missions either... or Makeb... An increase to level cap is a pretty straightforward thing too. There's no point of an NDA in the first place.

I can understand not wanting to put out spoilers. Heck, all of us can, but the fact is, it IS preventing us from playing right now. Your opinion on companion romances is just that... your opinion. I tried a companion romance on my IA with Vector... and I definitely enjoyed the whole thing. Was it 5 minutes? Maybe... did I enjoy it any less because it was only 5 minutes? I doubt it. I'm even looking forward to story updates because it's likely to have even more stuff to play with Vector.

Do I want to romance Kira without making a male JK? DUH... of course I do, Kira is the companion I liked the most out of the whole lot. Do I want to romance Jaesa without making a male character for it? Damn straight I do. Do I like any of the other male romance options? Hell no. For some reason, a bunch of them are a bit too... in your face enthusiastic for my liking. Not knowing how said romances would pan out means that I have no option but not to play my characters until some clarification is given. And truthfully, if they have no idea how they're making it happen at this point, they might as well come out and say that SGRAs won't be coming out until the end of next year so people can stop worrying about it, because that's probably how long it would take if they're still at the planning stage and haven't done any actual recording, story writing, coding for it.

They likely don't know yet.

Why can't they tell us that?

Though, assuming they have been working on this content, I find that hard to believe.

I mean, if I asked if my existing ship parts would work for the secret space project, or will I need new ones, do you think they would answer?

Does that prevent you from leveling characters?

I'm not saying that they need to give every detail but answering some questions (like, when in the story will these be introduced? Future or retro-active content?) is needed when trying to determine if you should level characters or wait.

Even if they did know the answer, most new content (like SGR) is kept under wraps for a reason. They don't want anyone to beat them to the punch on ideas until they're able to really show what they're bringing out and also when they're going to do so. A lot of people want answers about content they're waiting on. Bioware isn't giving ANYONE answers because no company EVER does until they can.

Again, I'm talking about simple questions like "Will all classes have this option?" or "At what point in the story?"....they don't need to give details so no one can 'steal their ideas' or whatever.

You cannot compare this to the other content people are asking for b/c, as I've mentioned, that stuff will most definitely be available for each class/gender and level 50 characters won't miss out on it...that's taken for granted. Of course, BW won't give specific details on this stuff either...but I don't need specific details on SGRA either...just general knowledge on how to prepare a character for it.

I want clarification on some of these things that would prevent me from leveling (or if I do level, could prevent me from experiencing SGRA content). I don't need an ETA and I don't need this to be implemented now. I can wait.

Also, if you're not playing the game because of this feature, you're missing out over nothing. The romances are very poorly done. Spend 100K on gifts, max out the affection and then you get 3 or 4 scenes where you kiss and say that you love the other person. It's literally less than 5 minutes.

Well, lots of people apparently feel the need to complete them (and BW feels the need to promote them all over FB and their site) so there must be something worthwhile there.

Does that prevent you from leveling characters?

If you want to get technical, you can simply ignore conversation prompts with said companion(s) until such a time comes when they are romanceable. It in no way hinders your character's level progression.

If you want to get technical, you can simply ignore conversation prompts with said companion(s) until such a time comes when they are romanceable. It in no way hinders your character's level progression.

I've done that actually with my Jedi Knight.

There's still no guarantee it will work. The hopeful SGRA companion in question (Kira for the JK) has a few conversations on-board ship that are mandatory in order to progress the main story and I have no clue if the romance trigger would be in one of those or in the conversations that occur afterwards (which I've avoided).

Alas, there's no guarantee that this companion will even be available (I doubt it actually) so it's probably all for nought.

I've done that actually with my Jedi Knight.

 

There's still no guarantee it will work. The hopeful SGRA companion in question (Kira for the JK) has a few conversations on-board ship that are mandatory in order to progress the main story and I have no clue if the romance trigger would be in one of those or in the conversations that occur afterwards (which I've avoided).

 

Alas, there's no guarantee that this companion will even be available (I doubt it actually) so it's probably all for nought.

Was actually just going to point Kira out myself. Took the words right from the tips of my fingers.

Also, if you're not playing the game because of this feature, you're missing out over nothing. The romances are very poorly done. Spend 100K on gifts, max out the affection and then you get 3 or 4 scenes where you kiss and say that you love the other person. It's literally less than 5 minutes.

Some people left the game because they weren't satisfied with PvP. I could say they left the game over nothing as well. Why ? Because I don't care for PvP at all. But I don't say that. I don't think my likings and opinions are more valid than someone else's, so I don't judge

Got it. You don't care for romances in this game. And that's fine. But some do.

Spend 100K on gifts, max out the affection and then you get 3 or 4 scenes where you kiss and say that you love the other person. It's literally less than 5 minutes.

I could also write a trivialized and biased description of what is pvp, pve, crafting, etc in this game to give them a negative light. It means nothing, it would be just my opinion as well

I could also write a trivialized and biased description of what is pvp, pve, crafting, etc in this game to give them a negative light. It means nothing, it would be just my opinion as well

And in any case, 'It doesn't matter if you're disadvantaged because I don't personally like the advantage that I have' is a pretty damn flimsy argument.

Also, if you're not playing the game because of this feature, you're missing out over nothing. The romances are very poorly done. Spend 100K on gifts, max out the affection and then you get 3 or 4 scenes where you kiss and say that you love the other person. It's literally less than 5 minutes.

Just saying, i dont think thats what this is all about...i mean, no big difference to real life. It is only about having the option.

Just a super quick breakdown of my point.

I'm going to list SWTOR content that's either confirmed to be coming soon (next patch) or is rumored to be coming "soon". Then, I will state whether I know for sure if a specific character of mine can partake in said content.

The character in question is my female Jedi Knight (Guardian AC) at lvl 50.

The list

The new WZ: Yes

New PvP gear: Yes

New space missions: Yes (I might need to buy better ship upgrades but this is feasible)

Makeb: Yes

The level cap extension: Yes

"Chapter 4": Yes

Any new FP/Operation that would come with Makeb/Ch. 4: Yes (I just need to have the gear for it but is feasible if I want it)

SGRA content: No clue

This has nothing to do with knowing details/spoilers about any of this content...just knowing if it's available for my characters.

Homophobes? Would those who do not wish to see SGR in their game for their own personal reasons? Or those who come and say they are against Gays personally, which I have not seen. I have only seen people saying they do not wish to see SGR in their games, that does not make then homophobes or trolls. They have ever right to express their opinion as you do.

It does make them "out of the loop".

You're a year behind on this issue.

Over a year ago, the discussion on whether or not this content should/would be added raged on. Since then, they've stated that they will add it in. This purpose of this thread is to ask for clarification on implementation of the feature (for some of the reasons I've stated...like, preparing characters for it). This is not a "put SGRA in the game (or not)" thread.

I don't care what "reasons" people have for not wanting this content in...it's irrelevant.

I may have "reasons" for not wanting a planet named "Makeb" added but I don't see the point in complaining about it in the "Makeb" threads.

Come up with a more thought-out reason than "this will take away time for from bug-fixes.. because clearly the Writing team also do Coding" logic jumps. That just looks like you're either reaching for a smoke-screen way to object, or that you actually believe there's only one Department working on the game.

Don't like getting brushed-off? Nobody does, that's why we're here.

In my fantasy world there are aliens of all types, the Empire is strong, I am a Darth and my son is my apprentice. I don't pay attention to sexual orientation of people I just do what is good for the Empire. That is my fantasy SW world, well and the Republic is gone as well. It's people like you that push names on others that disagree that raise my hackles so to speak. I have little use for the OGR in the game as well and find them an annoyance to the story. Other then Quinn the other choices suck and are a waste of time for me as well. I made it through the BH line w/out romancing Torian, it can be done. I don't do romances in my game, I play for the action.

And I reject your reality and substitute my own. And really, the issue you seem to be having is that YOU don't want romances. That's all fine and dandy, nobody is asking you to like them, nor is anyone asking you to play them out. If you easily made it through the BH line without romancing someone, what's to say you can't make it through the other story lines without romancing anyone else... be they SGR or OGR. Essentially, what you're trying to say is... hey, I like my world where everyone is asexual and no-one ever has any kind of urges like that, but I'd really love it if everyone else got the same world forced on them. What, pray tell, gives you the right to decide what I'd like to see in SWTOR? Are you trying to say that you're more important than everyone else who plays? Then again, you're here, yelling about SGRAs, so... I guess what you're trying to say is that you're better than anyone who's not heterosexual. Not really a good stance there, sir. How about I find where that report button is hiding and write a nice letter regarding your discrimination tendencies? Would that make your world a bit better?

And I reject your reality and substitute my own. And really, the issue you seem to be having is that YOU don't want romances. That's all fine and dandy, nobody is asking you to like them, nor is anyone asking you to play them out. If you easily made it through the BH line without romancing someone, what's to say you can't make it through the other story lines without romancing anyone else... be they SGR or OGR. Essentially, what you're trying to say is... hey, I like my world where everyone is asexual and no-one ever has any kind of urges like that, but I'd really love it if everyone else got the same world forced on them. What, pray tell, gives you the right to decide what I'd like to see in SWTOR? Are you trying to say that you're more important than everyone else who plays? Then again, you're here, yelling about SGRAs, so... I guess what you're trying to say is that you're better than anyone who's not heterosexual. Not really a good stance there, sir. How about I find where that report button is hiding and write a nice letter regarding your discrimination tendencies? Would that make your world a bit better?

Go right ahead.

Admittedly, I didn't sleep well, so I'm pasting this over from the other thread. Forgive the laziness...

I'm coming in just to say this:

If you are that opposed to SGRs, write to BioWare and/or Disney. Disney is not anti-gay at all, so good luck with that. Not sure where people get that from. Go google their corporate website and also look up same sex couple in Marvel's Xmen. The latter was published this summer well after the Disney/Marvel merger.

We snail mailed BW-Austin trying to get an answer over this. Have you tried a letter writing campaign to oppose this content or are you just sitting in the forums ripping on this?

If you're gonna hate this content that much, you should be proactive. Don't just complain and whine. I encourage pro-activity of everyone, no matter what side of this whole thing you're on.

Secondly, we know that Daniel Erickson left the company. We know that every employee of BW-Austin that spoke about this has left. That's the point of this. We just want to know.

Guess what? We're adults. We can handle being told no. We wouldn't be thrilled, but we could deal with it. As long as it was public, official and not from a third party site. I'd like them to address this on the ToR site, with no obscurity. Silence is not an answer and no player should have to take it as such. No matter what the content.

People that want the SSSP should have every right to ask for an answer. The mods and devs have at least addressed it publicly in recent months. The SGR community has not gotten a public word since March.

Meanwhile, there is a recent article that talks about how proud EA is of being inclusive for the LGBTQ community. If you read the article, it talks about not only their inclusion for their employees, but also of SGR content in general. So it makes the silence even more so unusual.

Finally, I put the video link from the Guild Summit up because people in this thread and the Story and Lore thread were asking where I got my quote from Daniel Erickson. I like to provide links anywhere and everywhere I can for any questions related to SGRs.

I know some of you hate it. Fine by me. By hating about it and talking about it so much, you're doing exactly what we wanted. To add visibility and to show EAware that this content brings out passion in people. For good and for ill.

In short, thanks for the bumps guys.

Yep, back-to-back posting. Don't worry, I'll ease up after this.

Okay, I guess this bears repeating.

No, we did not forget that it was optional. Which leads into my current point.

Say that a new Battlefield game was coming out that was not able to offer multiplayer at launch, but it was promised that it was going to be available as a free DLC later. This is optional content; it isn't mandatory to release a game with multiplayer.

Then, for better part of a year, they don't talk about it and dodge any/all questions about it.

Then all the employees that talked about this content are gone and the players are still left without a word.

Then a thread is started, understandably looking for an answer.

You are told over and over again that only a small percentage of the playerbase wants multiplayer, and the game has more important things/DLC to work on.

I'm betting the percentage of players in this example isn't as small as others might think. Just like with those interested in SGRs.

Wouldn't you(general term,) want to find out the answer after nine months? Even if it was no/delayed/scrapped/has an ETA? At least something.

How is this any different from a percentage of the player base asking for any information on SGRs?

As a customer, I feel deceived by EA/BW. That's why I'm taking the route I have.

I have yet to hear how this analogy is supposed to be any different from SGRs, even after the second thread from the other night. And that crowd was...a certain kind of special. I put it in "Did I hear this right?" as well and no answer. I even read the posters I have on ignore to see if they would even touch it. They did not. I think that even the most hateful troll can't touch this comparison without looking worse.

Please, everyone join us in writing to GLAAD. GLAAD has already started to investigate this matter. If anyone wants, I can copy the FB messages I've gotten from them. If anyone wants their contact info, let me know via PM.

Let's try to get some answers!

I am prepared for it to possibly be a "No," so long as they publicly come and tell us such.

I cannot stress this enough. Please read it again if you (general) are confused.

Publicly is the key word here.

They haven't said a word on a public scale since March. Nine months is a very long time in the world of MMOs. The LGBTQ posters don't necessarily want this right now, they just want an official word from BW/EA.

We are players too and I for one would like to see the Win-32 memory leak crashes get fixed first. I'm all about bug fixes before new content, no matter what it is.

I don't think an official and public word is too much to ask.

Our priority is an official statement.

GLAAD did get involved last year, and we're hoping that they can give an answer. That's all. Just a clear and direct answer, whatever that may be.

I would have never dreamed in my lifetime that GLAAD would care about this content. I certainly wouldn't have done it on my own. However, I had been given the knowledge and the link proving that GLAAD has helped us before. So that's why I took this direction.

And we have exhausted every other avenue.

We had already done the following:

• *Private Messages to Moderators and Developers on the forum boards.
  
• Twitter and Facebook.
  
• Email and Snail mail.
  
• "Ask the Devs" and other such developer "Q&As"
  
• The Livestream cast, with over 25% of the questions related to same gender romance content and not a single question addressed.
  

Silence is not an answer. We shouldn't have to take it as such either.