Rakghoul Plague Outbreak Ended - Surprised by this?

How did you find out about the Rakghoul information Gilack? By the way, I'm just wondering, how often to you stop by the forums? Do you do so daily?

I probably would require more 'handholding' than most others, not a hardcore gamer, not transferring over from some other popular MMORPG. Outside of some playing Star Wars Galaxies, have never played this type of game before.

It seems like this game is structured/geared/aimed-at players that have experience playing these types of games before. Everything from the lingo used by developers to the way certain things (such as this Rakghoul event) have been structured - it seems to be based on how other games have done similar stuff before.

Why do we have to come to the fourm anyways, I've spent a few hours here and on google search instead of playing the game (by the way, exactly why are you here Glack? To tell us Bioware is engaging in basic game design that we should already know through osmosis or the water?). This might be second-nature to you, it isn't to me. I don't want to play a game that requires googlesearching and reading cryptic developer posts on a forum to figure out what is going on. My character has been on Balmorra and Nar Shaddaa, I'm not exactly on the Republic Fleet getting all this info through general chat anyways. But if I played on a sparsely populated server, I probably wouldn't have heard had I been standing at the PvP terminal on the Republic Fleet 24/7.

Is it that hard for Bioware to provide a mechanism ingame to let us know what is going on?

You sound like a very decent sort of person, Bragalot. I'm really trying to understand things from your point of view. It is difficult to really do that, however, and I'll tell you why. Firstly, I personally found out about the event from the news station on the fleet. It was a new item I hadn't seen in game before so, naturally, I clicked it. It said stay away from Tatooine. I took that to mean go to Tatooine.

When I got there, players were discussing the event. I asked where to go. They said where. I went. I could have explored the map and tried to find it myself but I, like you, did not have time. So I sought info. I sought info about all the other bits of the event too (the codex, the red rakghoul pet, how to get the most DNA samples as quickly as possible, etc) of the event too because I wanted to get the most out of it in my limited time. I was able to purchase 5 black/green color crystals and two customizations.

I was actively seeking info because I am the type of player that has a casual attitude towards games. And as someone unfamiliar with this type of game, I would imagine that you would too. Isn't that how we learn? Through experience or through the seeking of knowledge? The experience has taught you something about these types of games, I'm sure, but I can't understand why you seem to be so actively against seeking answers.

How entertaining would the event have been if the developers had told us exactly what to do and exactly how to do it. It would have been like playing Simon Says. That doesn't seem so very engaging to me. But, perhaps, that is what you like in a game.

It was definitely sudden. They should have either kept it for longer, or done as OP suggested. Add some sort of Containment Captain NPC on Carrick Station and Vaikan Spacedock which will take the DNA samples and sell you event gear/pets/crystals, etc. "for your hard work - ahem, standing on Carrick Station waiting for infection". And he should be there for at least another week.

I also hope they do it again sometime next year though. And make it a different more populated planet... like Alderaan. OOOOHHHHHHHHH.

The only thing players should need to keep track of to play the game well is the game.

Coming to the forums or interrogating people as to when things happen and when they end is simply wrong. The news casts on the Fleet should all have altered a couple of days before the end of the event and should have continued to alter as it drew to an end - something like "Republic authorities are now claiming that they have the plague under control and estimate that the Rakghoul infestation will be under control and travel restrictions will be lifted in 48 hours... 36 hours.... 30 hours... 24 hours..." etc or something along those lines.

Anything that happens in game should be clearly communicated IN GAME - forums are optional extras for people who want to discuss the game (or in 95% of posts, complain about the game).

Some things should be noted both on the web and in-game, such as scheduled patch times. Unscheduled patch times should be trumpeted extra loudly because people don't expect them.

The only reason I knew to spend my last 100 DNA was because I had visited the forums. I never heard it in-game, but finding that the vendor was gone didn't come as a surprise and I only got stuck with some 14 DNA.

It's still hideously wrong and bad and no-no, shame on you Bioware! to not make sure that information such as the cutoff date for an event is clearly announced and "widebanded" in the game itself.

It was a great event, a shame I noticed it too late (two days before end)... I wish there was an in-game Calendar announcing the exact start and end of events like in WoW and I wish there was the date in the headlines on the main site, I don't read forums unless I am desperate, only the news on the swtor web here and there and there is only a link to a vid. (Which is still there - so is the event over or not?)
Anyway: I enjoyed it very much and hope it will be repeated and am excited for more events!
Thank you BioWare!

I appreciate your response Dolcia. To be honest, had I been more inclined to or had realized there was something to do with those DNA samples more than just accumulate them I would have done so. My 11-yr old daughter spent 4 or 5 hours of her Sunday evening getting repeatedly killed waiting for an orokeet egg by Imperial characters that would log on every now and then, kill her and log back off as she waited so that she could have a pet ingame. She was determined though and kept this up for a number of hours, getting killed, getting to the med center and driving back to the spot. After a while it was becoming terribly frustrating to her to the point of stiffling back tears as these level 50 Imperial players that had nothing better to do with their time than repeatedly kill her level 32 vanguard and deny her chance are getting an egg that apparently only appears only once every 4 hours. Anyways, to now know that she should have spent that time getting another ingame pet, the rakling and the chance to get one of those things is now gone?

I play the game as casual as probably anyone, I sometimes just walk around and just enjoy the gorgeous graphics that the developers have created. I detest the time I am spending here on the forum, I feel like I am wasting my limited time venting about this rather than enjoying it playing the game. How was I or her to find out about this event without going through the steps that you went through Dolcia?

To begin, the 'news terminal' on the fleet for my daughter was bugged the day 1.2 came out. The news announcements that were made on the Republic Fleet, they spoke about going to Tatooine and we did so. We found a nifty little ingame scene where a rakghoul would escape around some soldiers, but didn't run across any other rakghoul-related thing. I suppose we could have went in general chat or in guild chat and ask others about what to do, specifics etc... but we like taking the game where it leads us. Now, had we found say a mission to get this pet, we would have done so (not so much for me, but for her, she really wanted one). Had we known previously that we could trade rakghoul dna and purchase one from a vendor that is now gone, for sure we would have done that.

What I'm trying to say is, there were no paths placed before us to by Bioware ingame that would lead us or let us know what to do. My daughter wasted her time trying to attain an orokeet, had we known the existence of the mission to get this other pet and the limited duration to do so we would have done that. In fact, had we known a little more specifically about the whole event without having to come to forums/blogs/dev posts etc we would have chosen to take part in it.

This game the past month has been one disappointment after another. I spend the time describing this in hopes someone is reading this that can understand our point of view. We are in the tiny minority, but feel like this game isn't catered to our style of play. We aren't rewarded with an additional month, we aren't provided with some minimum information ingame that others like yourself have found to get rewards, we now realize that we need to seek research outside of the game in order to do ingame things, etc...

This just isn't the game Bioware told us they were making, the game that one could take months to play through if unrushed - a manner of play which they encouraged, the game that had made plans years in advance on improvements/enhancements they would be creating. Now our characters are left without a remembrance of the first event within the game, no pets, nothing. The most frustrating part however is that I feel like a fool for not having google searched out the information like so many others routinely do - and not even realizing that apparently that is a common part of gaming, finding someone that has done something before you and described it so that everyone else could copy in order to achieve things within the game.

Honestly i respect your position a good deal more than most of the other people on here with the entitlement attitudes that say "cater to me" but everything you've described is the way MMOs are that is the purpose of these forums for those who cant or wont bother to figure things out on their own. MMOs have very little approachability for a casual gamer who isn't experienced with them and really the only way to combat that is to change the way ALL of these games are developed (not just SWTOR) or realize that as someone new to the genre there is going to be a bit more outside research needed to fully engage the content. For instance if consulting 3rd party information is not an acceptable way to play the game to you you could have a perfectly great experience without getting the crystals or customizations from the vendor anyway (you cant even really see the customization), It doesn't take anything away from the game. I can agree that adding the information to the launcher would have been a good idea but BW is learning right along with you and future events will -I'm sure- take alot of these issues into consideration. WoW did the same thing with event vendors for a time. Your post has softened my position - for what its worth (not much i'm sure since i cant put the vendor back). I'm far from an elitist and don't want to see newcomers get turned off to the genre, More subscribers = better games.

I don't speak for everyone on here but I don't really have an issue with putting the vendor back this time, and maybe next time make it a bit more clear to people who don't frequent forums (Because lets face it, most of the people on here are either pretty hardcore and want to maximize their class or they have something to complain about). The problem with leaving the vendor when the source has been cut off is it leads to price gouging for the currency and I'm positive that's the basis for complaint from a good deal of the people who want the vendor back, they expected him to still be there so they could sell the DNA. Its very frustrating to be one of the people who took the time to make sure I had my DNA samples and purchases squared away in time just to see the flood of whiners who feel entitled to special treatment making demands of BW (Put the Vendor Back etc.)

[EDIT]: Spelling

Hi All,

I've enjoyed playing this game and spent little time complaiing, just playing. I've basically cancelled my subscription and let them know that not being able to spend any of my DNA after the event is a huge obstacle for my game enjoyment. If they allow me to spend the DNA, no hard feelings and I renew. If they don't, which is likely the case, I'll remain canceled, still no hard feelings and I'll go play Rift which I've still maintained my subscription. I'm the last to say that a company should bend to every whim of the customer, because many of us can be fickle and overdemanding. Playing MMOs for over 15 years, Everquest being my first, I've seldom complained about anything. But gone are the days when there are a few MMOs that people play for years. Many game companies are inflexible, usually over easily fixed issues. And they make choices as each of us in turn make choices. In this case, I feel it is an easy fix. Now I'm not judging all the people who think differently, as i'd like them not to judge me. Games are just that, games. In the end, it is about having fun. In this case my fun was squashed, as was my subscription. If they fix this, perhaps I'll see you in game again. Those of you who continue playing, Be Well!

Regards,

Rilvas

and like a few other MMOs

edit: Also, BW, please understand that many people arguing for this just wants a higher price for their DNA Samples now that the source is gone. Nothing more

fixed it for ya bro

your sense of entitlement is astounding, most people that play this game have "IRL engagements" I had "IRL engagements", guess what? i knew i had them and had my purchases settled before the weekend.
Im not against putting the vendor back specifically BECAUSE there might be people who didn't know this time.
But... OK i didn't get a white color crystal and i didn't know it was going away in 1.2 put that vendor back for a week so i can buy my crystal.
my issue is with those who come here making demands throwing a fit because they missed out on something that was in their power to obtain.

Also, I don't really care about the rarity, everyone can have the same color for all i care I think it looks cool and I wanted one so when i got 83 i bought one, then i wanted a couple for alts so i got the DNA and bought them. All of my crystals are bound so no i don't really care how much they sell for.

wow, so many of these posts make me sad i too am bummed that the event just ended just like that. I'm sure I have loads of DNA on my chars, but I've not logged in yet. I missed most of the weekend, because there were like 3 other games with beta weekends, and it seems when it rains it pours. It must have been sweeps weekend for MMO's....

My point is though, that its a sad fact that modern MMO play requires visits to forums, blogs, DB sites (torhead, etc.) wikis, google searches et al just to 'play the game'. Sure I know this, because I've played loads of other MMos over the years, but for a new player there is no way they'd figure this all out. I even remarked to someone about this very fact regarding the event.

How did the first person figure out the scavenger hunt part of the event?? I saw a blog post, and a video, but how on earth did that first person (dulfy?) figure that all out??... I had noticed some of the ship parts around when I was exploring, but there is no way I'd have figured out the buffs, etc.