1.0 brought us with 32 unique chapters (I am counting Prologue as a chapter here) alongside two dozen or so small planetary chains and scattered missions. There were also a dozen to two flashpoints and 4 operations. Also don't forget the HK-51.

2.0 brought us so far 2 unique chapters, 4 secondary mission chains and one operation.

Now of course, the 2.0 cycle has only just begun (so new FPs and Ops will be added presumably), but with their plans for 2.2 and 2.3 revealed, we can pretty much extrapolate that compared to 1.0-1.7 the 2.x cycle will be severely inferior in regards to story. You could even go so far as saying that one chapter in 1.0 had more depth than the Makeb chapter as the Makeb story didn't advance the player character as in the player character learned something about himself (only the Galactic War) and does next to nothing with companions.

To me, regular story updates are just as important, if not more than PvE/PvP and RP updates. Also my companions seem less and less important over time. Mako did everything for me to gather intell where others would not, but when we go to Makeb, she just ignores me, with the exception of (well appreciated) comments outside.

I mean, I don't expect 2.0 to have more story content than 1.0. In fact, I would be grandiosely happy even with a quarter (4 chapters per faction) which is significantly more.

The questions I am asking are: "Is one chapter (per faction) per major content cycle enough?", "Why do we suddenly get atleast 10 times less story than at launch, when it was so praised by a large part of the community?"

EDIT: I added this in a post below:

You are making an unfair point here as almost every single content patch has had story in it.

Alright, lets do it. lets compare each and every story content we got from every patch:

Now, heres the fun part. I am going to quantitatively rate each story content based on the amount I think each bit is worth. A 1.0 chapter will have 10 points and everything else will be related to that. Of course take the result with a grain of salt.

1.0

- 32 Chapters [320pt]

- 17 planets full of missions with 13 having a planetary story arc and 10 having a bonus serie [120pt]

- 41 companion stories of which 8 have their own missions [80pt]

- 15 flashpoints [40pt]

- 1 operation (EV) [1pt]

1.1

- 1 flashpoint (KuS) [2pt]

- 1 operation (KP) [1pt]

1.2

- Rakghoul Event [4pt]

- 1 flashpoint (LI) [2pt]

- 1 operation (EC) [1pt]

- 1 daily area with weak story [2pt]

1.3

Nothing

1.4

- 1 operation (TfB) [1pt]

1.5

- HK-51 [5pt] (I am saying this chain is worth half a chapter)

- 1 daily area with decent background story [3pt]

1.6

Nothing

1.7

- Gree event [4pt]

2.0

- 2 chapters [35pt]

- 4 mission chains (the binoc and seeker chains) [8pt]

- 1 planet with just a couple missions telling story (I know there are only 2 additional missions for the empire, cant say for the republic) and no storytelling bonus series [8pt]

- 1 operation [1pt]

2.1

Nothing

2.2

Nothing according to Summer of SWTOR

data = {561, 3, 9, 0, 1, 8, 0, 4, 52, 0, 0}

adding this into a plot: http://i.imgur.com/kHlYCF8.png

Or if you prefer a base-10 logarithmic plot: http://i.imgur.com/jeYp0Xk.png

My conclusion: Bioware has currently absolutely NO interest in pleasing the StarWars Fans who play SWTOR for the story content. Well, they did have interest pre-launch, but all that interest has faded. The more I think about it, the more I wished 2.0 just added personal class story chapters instead.

Nope. It's not enough.

I can live with them going fraction based, but it does mean that after finishing chapter 3 on all classes, I'm going to focus on two characters, 1 on each side of the fraction line, and ignore the other 6 classes.

Which means I'll be less willing to spend money on the Cartel Market they want me to spend money on.

If class stories continued for example, and a new outfit comes out that I think would look better on my Trooper and her companions (they all wear matching outfits, as it's the units uniform ), I'm not going to purchase it, because I have no incentive to keep leveling my Trooper, as the Trooper just isn't going to be my main on Rep side (Smuggler or Consular is, undecided).

Now if I had more class storylines, I'd end up wanting to get through them, and thusly, level them up in the new outfits that I think look best on them now!

Companions, they make this big thing about TOR and stories, and stop my companions stories They don't even keep track of it all after you complete it! My trooper, who is now with Jorgen, should have Jorgen speak up if she starts flirting/getting with other people (she doesn't, because she's with Jorgen But if she did...something should be said!)

Basically, if TOR becomes less story based (and it is, imo anyways), it becomes less worthwhile to stay. I'll love some of the companions still of course But that was TOR's thing!

I stayed with and LOVED City of Heroes for 8 years. So, it's not that I need these TOR style stories, buuut, when it's what the MMO was hyped up about, and what made it different, and then it loses it...it becomes less.

Which may not be to bad, because then I can focus on 2 characters only But at the same time, I'll have these companions that BW could be making more awesome and they're not, and it gets you to the feeling that BW is just dropping the ball big time.

I'd also like to add that I still appreaciated chapter 4. The story felt pretty good, although a lot less personal. My point is not saying that the story is becoming worse perse, but just that Bioware seemingly cuts almost all effort they put into story.

I assume they need resources for PvE and PvP content, but I really hope they will pick up the slack at some point, or provide new ways of continuing the story and companions.

They advertised so much on personalized class story, companions, personal ship etc. But it seems the playerbase that initially joined for exactly those things is getting shoved away in favor of a more easy to please PvE and PvP playerbase.

I'd also like to add that I still appreaciated chapter 4. The story felt pretty good, although a lot less personal. My point is not saying that the story is becoming worse perse, but just that Bioware seemingly cuts almost all effort they put into story.

 

I assume they need resources for PvE and PvP content, but I really hope they will pick up the slack at some point, or provide new ways of continuing the story and companions.

 

They advertised so much on personalized class story, companions, personal ship etc. But it seems the playerbase that initially joined for exactly those things is getting shoved away in favor of a more easy to please PvE and PvP playerbase.

Ugh...their original business model (on which everything else is based) didn't pan out. No point in expecting the kind of content that was based on a certain business model that is no longer used. This is a fantastic game- one of the very best if not the best "video game" I have ever played, and I am suggesting it to all my friends. But I do expect to go through that original content eventually and lose interest in the game. It happens. I think the point should be to consume swtor slowly and savor every bite because it is a unique thing, almost an accident, and there is no reason to expect anything like it to come out anytime soon. Or even eventually.

I am slowly lvl:ing my alts in order to make the stories last longer. If there is only the 1-50 class stories and then companions going mute for all following expansions then I don't know what will hold me here except the people in my guild. I want my companions to be more than just collections of powers that follow behind my characters. Makeb had a really great story, but it felt so strange not having my companions reacting to it as well. Don't get me started on Doc not having anything to say if my JK flirted with the female dr, because he would. Miss the companions so much and I still enjoy the 1-50 part of the game much more even if Makeb was a very good experience.

Still have a few stories to go, but I am a little worried. Came here as a single game player, have never really been hooked to MMO's before but this combination of stories that I can enjoy when playing by myself and then Operations and the fun community with the guildies has been absolutely great. But I personally need both the stories and the camaraderie of the guild and community I interact with.

People like different things, this is just the matter which is closest to my heart. If the next expansion is the same type of avengers movie with mute companions I guess that I may not be the targeted group of players. And I understand it, for me creating a new alt is a big thing that I really look forward to, shaping a new character. Was really happy to start the Cathar trooper that I have been wanting to play ever since they first told us that the Cathars would be playable. I was so happy to finally get her on Ord Mantell. At the same time a guildie considered creating a new character in order to have different class and gave a heavy *sigh* because they felt that the lvl:ing was a chore. Just wanted to get to the end where the content that they enjoy is. We just have very very different interests.

Keeping my fingers crossed that they are still interested in working with our current companions and that they will do something for those of us who have story and companions as the main attraction. Time will tell I guess.

You are making an unfair point here as almost every single content patch has had story in it.

Alright, lets do it. lets compare each and every story content we got from every patch:

Now, heres the fun part. I am going to quantitatively rate each story content based on the amount I think each bit is worth. A 1.0 chapter will have 10 points and everything else will be related to that. Of course take the result with a grain of salt.

1.0

- 32 Chapters [320pt]

- 17 planets full of missions with 13 having a planetary story arc and 10 having a bonus serie [120pt]

- 41 companion stories of which 8 have their own missions [80pt]

- 15 flashpoints [40pt]

- 1 operation (EV) [1pt]

1.1

- 1 flashpoint (KuS) [2pt]

- 1 operation (KP) [1pt]

1.2

- Rakghoul Event [4pt]

- 1 flashpoint (LI) [2pt]

- 1 operation (EC) [1pt]

- 1 daily area with weak story [2pt]

1.3

Nothing

1.4

- 1 operation (TfB) [1pt]

1.5

- HK-51 [5pt] (I am saying this chain is worth half a chapter)

- 1 daily area with decent background story [3pt]

1.6

Nothing

1.7

- Gree event [4pt]

2.0

- 2 chapters [35pt]

- 4 mission chains (the binoc and seeker chains) [8pt]

- 1 planet with just a couple missions telling story (I know there are only 2 additional missions for the empire, cant say for the republic) and no storytelling bonus series [8pt]

- 1 operation [1pt]

2.1

Nothing

2.2

Nothing according to Summer of SWTOR

data = {561, 3, 9, 0, 1, 8, 0, 4, 52, 0, 0}

adding this into a plot: http://i.imgur.com/kHlYCF8.png

Or if you prefer a base-10 logarithmic plot: http://i.imgur.com/jeYp0Xk.png

My conclusion: Bioware has currently absolutely NO interest in pleasing the StarWars Fans who play SWTOR for the story content. Well, they did have interest pre-launch, but all that interest has faded. The more I think about it, the more I wished 2.0 just added personal class story chapters instead.

1.0 was in development for 5+ years.

In general the people on these forums complaining about the lack of content have no real idea what coding entails and how time consuming it really is. Take a Computer Science introductory course and you will find that designing even something as simple as Yahtzee, Solitaire, or Frogger can be at times frustrating and incredibly time consuming. Now step back, and be thankful for what you have.

1.0 was in development for 5+ years.

 

In general the people on these forums complaining about the lack of content have no real idea what coding entails and how time consuming it really is. Take a Computer Science introductory course and you will find that designing even something as simple as Yahtzee, Solitaire, or Frogger can be at times frustrating and incredibly time consuming. Now step back, and be thankful for what you have.

For me it is a little like playing Mass Effect and my FemShep shares that one special night with Kaidan, and afterwards there is no more conversations. He will still continue to with you in the continuation of the story through ME2 and ME3, but you can no longer speak to him. Or if you are looking for a BroShep example. At the end of ME2 your Shepard finally gets together with Tali, she will continue questing with you in ME3 but she will no longer speak with you in private conversations. The story might continue, but she will no longer reference your relationship since the soundbites out in the questing world are always neutral.

There are still a few classes that I haven't seen, so still lvl:ing them. Just hoping that they will not leave the story completely behind and let our companions only remain for crafting for for letting your choose to bring a dps or tank-comp to the field. As for programming. It is fully possible to wish to see this continued on even after you have done Computer Science introductory course. Mostly worked with Java and Matlab, peeked a little at C++ and they only game that I ever programmed was a little maze with tiles that you had to push around on my Texas Instruments calculator. There has been more PvP-WZ:s added. There has been new Operations added. But since the game was released have been no more conversations added. I can fully live with them being added at a slower pace than Ops and WZ:s since I do want my guildies to have fun and I enjoy Operations as well. However I would like to know if the companions story over after the 1-50 is done, or will they be continued on?

Just want to know if this is something that they are still working on.

I don't think Makeb should have counted as a chapter honestly. It didn't make any reference to anything that I had done previously and was laid out more like a planet story. It wasn't terrible, but I can't say I was impressed swtor is in its 2nd year and we have yet to get continuity to our class stories.

Considering this game was marketed for years as being heavily story based, engaging, equivalent to kotor 3,4 5, 6. Honestly I've yet to see any evidence of that and then to release the first expansion which doesn't even include class story lines it is a little disappointing.

I'm not even overly impressed with how the stories were managed in the original chapters, for example because it's the most obvious one would be the handling of Revan and Meetra. When you rescue Revan, Meetra makes it sound like now Revan has been freed the galaxy has a chance again against the emperor. Then he goes and gets defeated in a mid level flashpoint by a group of newbie sith. It's just very "un-epic" it has nothing exciting about it, it's a very dull and abrupt ending to what could have been an awesome story line. There is just literally tons of stuff they could have done with those 2 characters alone.

Satele Shan barely gets a mention you never see her actually do anything besides have a quick chat on the holocom another missed opportunity. Absolutely nothing epic happens on this game nothing makes you go wow that was good, omegad that was awesome, no suspense etc.Take Makeb for example there is a part where your character is falling off that mercenary HQ ship all you see is your character running in straight line toward the edge. Why not animate some jumps dodges etc, or animate the jump you make to the shuttle instead of turning the screen black then showing the shuttle fly off. It's things like that that are constantly not capitalized on and the games story telling suffers because of it.

Companions are another thing, why can you only speak to them at certain points. Why can't you speak to them whenever you like same as kotor, mass effect etc. Why do you need infinite amount of gifts to get their affection up enough that they will speak to you, why not just allow actual interaction with the character. I could go on forever about all the things that in my opinion just seem to have been done in a very half arsed way.

The gameplay and etc I think is fine, I just expected so much more from the stories and companions.

For me it is a little like playing Mass Effect and my FemShep shares that one special night with Kaidan, and afterwards there is no more conversations. He will still continue to with you in the continuation of the story through ME2 and ME3, but you can no longer speak to him. Or if you are looking for a BroShep example. At the end of ME2 your Shepard finally gets together with Tali, she will continue questing with you in ME3 but she will no longer speak with you in private conversations. The story might continue, but she will no longer reference your relationship since the soundbites out in the questing world are always neutral.

 

There are still a few classes that I haven't seen, so still lvl:ing them. Just hoping that they will not leave the story completely behind and let our companions only remain for crafting for for letting your choose to bring a dps or tank-comp to the field. As for programming. It is fully possible to wish to see this continued on even after you have done Computer Science introductory course. Mostly worked with Java and Matlab, peeked a little at C++ and they only game that I ever programmed was a little maze with tiles that you had to push around on my Texas Instruments calculator. There has been more PvP-WZ:s added. There has been new Operations added. But since the game was released have been no more conversations added. I can fully live with them being added at a slower pace than Ops and WZ:s since I do want my guildies to have fun and I enjoy Operations as well. However I would like to know if the companions story over after the 1-50 is done, or will they be continued on?

 

Just want to know if this is something that they are still working on.

I get it, I'm a huge Mass Effect fan myself and a KOTOR 1 and 2 fanatic before that.

But even then you can't really compare SWTOR to Mass Effect because Mass Effect was one studio putting every bit of their resources into one single player story. SWTOR has eight of those, PLUS faction stories, PLUS all the other **** that comes w/ an MMO. Mass Effect was great because they were able to make a very immersive Universe with many different options on how things can play out, and while this game does have those same options, they number far less simply because they have to spread their resources over the entire game.

If you think you want class stories, I'd imagine the devs want nothing more to continue them as well. But ultimately they answer to EA. It was EA who decided the F2P switch, and thus the gutting of studio, ever since then content that was originally planned back before F2P has been milked back due to less employees. It will be interesting to see what happens when all of the pre-F2P content is used up and they start implementing new things.

1.0 was in development for 5+ years.

 

In general the people on these forums complaining about the lack of content have no real idea what coding entails and how time consuming it really is. Take a Computer Science introductory course and you will find that designing even something as simple as Yahtzee, Solitaire, or Frogger can be at times frustrating and incredibly time consuming. Now step back, and be thankful for what you have.

Just think, a large proportion of subscribers to this game came because of the story. And an even larger proportion came because its Star Wars. These customers have likely never played an MMO before (I am one of them) and are not prepared to put as much time into the MMO aspects as other players would. So what happens when these players have completed the story in its entirety? Are they going to stick around to grind gear, warzones, operations etc? No, they are going to unsubscribe and await more story.

If story is not continually forthcoming SWTOR is going to experience a steady decline in players. Who game for the RPG, not the MMO.

Still, I think the idea of introducing a brand new planet and story with every major update and then a series of flashpoints, operations is not a bad idea. More content may be needed however.

I get it, I'm a huge Mass Effect fan myself and a KOTOR 1 and 2 fanatic before that.

But even then you can't really compare SWTOR to Mass Effect because Mass Effect was one studio putting every bit of their resources into one single player story. SWTOR has eight of those, PLUS faction stories, PLUS all the other **** that comes w/ an MMO. Mass Effect was great because they were able to make a very immersive Universe with many different options on how things can play out, and while this game does have those same options, they number far less simply because they have to spread their resources over the entire game.

 

If you think you want class stories, I'd imagine the devs want nothing more to continue them as well. But ultimately they answer to EA. It was EA who decided the F2P switch, and thus the gutting of studio, ever since then content that was originally planned back before F2P has been milked back due to less employees. It will be interesting to see what happens when all of the pre-F2P content is used up and they start implementing new things.

Well yes, they are herding cats and all of us are yowling for different things be it PvP, Operations, being able to sit in chairs, toggling of hoods and so on. I really enjoy the Operations and a little PvP on the side, but the thing I enjoy most from the game other than my guild is the stories.

And I do think that they would like to do more with it, absolutely. In Dragon Age: Origins you could talk to companions when you wanted to which was not the case in DAII. Now it looks like they are changing it a bit.

According to the PAX Panel, there is an intent to give more control of the dialogue timing back into the hands of the player (like in DAO), as opposed to being directed to specific conversations via quest (like in DA2). David Gaider further expounded on this (http://social.bioware.com/forum/1/topic/371/index/14730886&lf=8) by saying that there would be less companion quests in DA3, but more opportunity to talk to your followers at your leisure. In addition, they would be removing the "indicator" that your party members had something to say, as it was felt this took away from player agency. (http://social.bioware.com/forum/1/topic/371/index/14297664&lf=8) Presumably, this means companions will be brought back to a central location (as has been indicated elsewhere).

 

As an added bonus to this, yes, you will be able to kiss your Love Interest at your leisure.

 

Linky to BSN

That little bit in the end "As an added bonus to this, yes, you will be able to kiss your Love Interest at your leisure" was something that was highly requested from the forum, very much requested. Indeed, even Gaider commented on it.

Linky again to BSN

I think that there are things that they can do to keep people who are very interested in their companions and Love Interests engaged. Just like they are doing in DA3, make it possible to give Elara, Risha, Vector or who ever your character took a fancy to a hugg and a kiss, talk a little. Just being able to interact with them even if it is the same convo over and over again. This was very popular in DA:O and I think it might be beneficial here as well. Since we are unlikely to see many updates, this would at least give people the opportunity to rp the continuation of that relationship a little easier.

Well, we will see where it ends up. A guildie just unsubbed because he did not want to go through TfB again. Another one really wants something new in PvP. And here I am yowling for more interaction with my companions and Love Interests

Herding cats, they should get t-shirts.

BioWare has right out said that new story content will be faction based only. Our class stories are dead forever.

You guys seem to forge that this is a game funded by Electronic Arts. After 1.0 was completed, most of the development team was transferred or laid off. BioWare Austin no longer has the manpower to give us the new class stories the game deserves. EA likes its games developed on a penny-pinched budget. By spending less resources on development, more revenue can be counted as profit.

BioWare has right out said that new story content will be faction based only. Our class stories are dead forever.

Source?

Source?

http://www.darthhater.com/articles/feature/23676-developer-q-a-featuring-bruce-maclean

Where does the development team stand with regards to individual class stories? Are these still a priority for upcoming content?

Great question. The way you choose to overcome your own personal villains is a crucial part of what defines your character, and once you’ve gotten closure on your personal story, you’re ready to be a key player in the larger conflicts that threaten the Empire and the Republic. Moving forward, we’re focusing on those stories – conflicts that decide the fate of the entire Galaxy and demand the attention of other living legends like yourself. You can still put your personal touch on these stories, and you’ll develop relationships just like before, but now the stakes are higher, and the experience can be shared with your friends.

This response quoted here is bad PR speak for "no more class stories."

http://www.darthhater.com/articles/feature/23676-developer-q-a-featuring-bruce-maclean

 

 

 

 

 

This response quoted here is bad PR speak for "no more class stories."

Well that really sucks, considering they undoubtedly make more money from this game now than they did with subs.

If by stories you mean "One basic Republic based story that is the same for all Republic classes so that if you finish it once it'll be the same basic story for all others" And "One imperial based story that is the same for all imperial classes so once you finish it with one it is essentially the same for all other then probably.

But specific story for each an every class thats completley different dependant on that class then likley no.

The JK for example

How many more times would he have to do that and how many times will it take before someone would QQ saying it's been done before?

The questions I am asking are: "Is one chapter (per faction) per major content cycle enough?", "Why do we suddenly get atleast 10 times less story than at launch, when it was so praised by a large part of the community?"

These questions cannot be answered by the entire player base as a whole. Each player needs to assess their desire for individual class stories and determine what effect not continuing them will have on their account status.

Having played MMOs for a long time, I knew this was going to happen. There was NO WAY IN H***, BioWare/EA could sustain individual stories (with all the script writing, content development, voice acting, etc involved), AND release new content in a reasonable amount of time (whether content updates or expansions), unless SWTOR truly did kill WoW and became the biggest baddest MMO on the block. And, in my opinion, ANYONE who expected otherwise was deluding themselves (even those at EA and BioWare).

Having this in mind, I personally am content with one chapter of faction story with each major content release. I will enjoy the journey laid before me with every one. Yes, I might only fully partake of that journey once for each faction (doing other things to level my alternate characters), but in all candor that is what one does when you play an MMO where alternate characters are encouraged - you fully embrace the differences taking your time to enjoy the journey and then zip through the similarities (only doing what you remember enjoying).