As the title suggests I will be tackling the ideas of all of these as a possibility as purchaseables upon the Cartel Market.

Level Boosting

First off is probably the easiest to conceptualize. We already have Level Tokens which allow us to make a character that starts off at 60 or 65, however we do not have a boost available for characters that already have been made.

First concern that I will address will be what I saw on the forums a while back. That is that the boost would be non-optimal due to the storyline. What I would propose is that the level boost act exactly like the Level Token in terms of storyline decisions, except with the addition of keeping the equipment and titles you gained levelling through the storyline.

Q&A:

Q. Why would we need a level boost when we already have the token? Why not just use the token?

A. Well, this is really an option that I feel fits better then the token. Boosting a characters level would be for having a boosted character with some story titles. Or in my case, for boosting a character I am too disinterested in who has a lot of really cool stuff from the old days that are bound.

Gender Changes

Now this one is also pretty easy to imagine, the only thing I can see holding a gender change back would be the relationships that certain NPCs have with you. My solution would be to just reset those relationships.

Alternatively, since I do not know how embedded in the code the gender is, the change could be purely aesthetic. Giving the player the voice and look of the opposing gender, but keeping interactions the same as they would've been pre-change. This might actually add a bit of Roleplay to the gender change as it would appear like your character actually went though a gender transition.

Faction Changes

Also an easy one. A faction change can literally be as easy as making the other side version exactly like a Level Token character except with the equipment of what they had on the other faction.

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Any questions I can answer please ask. Any flaws in my post, please point out.

The only thing they pointed out as to why they won't do faction / gender change is due to story and romance options.

Not just your companions but throughout the story as you go along you have the option to romance specific characters. Depending on your gender some can and some cannot be romanced.

Also companions is the main one BW is referencing. What if as a Sith Warrior I choose to romance Vette. How would that play into a gender change since that is not an option for female Sith Warriors, their choice is Quinn. How would you adjust that entire setup?

The only thing they pointed out as to why they won't do faction / gender change is due to story and romance options.

 

Not just your companions but throughout the story as you go along you have the option to romance specific characters. Depending on your gender some can and some cannot be romanced.

 

Also companions is the main one BW is referencing. What if as a Sith Warrior I choose to romance Vette. How would that play into a gender change since that is not an option for female Sith Warriors, their choice is Quinn. How would you adjust that entire setup?

That is a good question, I would just say that the relationships are reset for the terms of Romance. Most things would have to be reset for any change to your character.

That is a good question, I would just say that the relationships are reset for the terms of Romance. Most things would have to be reset for any change to your character.

What about in cases where someone has gone through the whole storyline and they haven't gotten back their companions yet that they could romance. Jedi Consular is a perfect example. So far only one of their companions is back, the other 4 are still missing.

Also if they are reset I know that when you go through the conversations with them you earn both DS or LS points plus either XP or CXP if at 70, someone could essentially reset the conversations then then farm CXP by doing them all over again.

Unless the reset or change is extremely expensive but I know those that have a lot of money probably could take advantage of that.

What about in cases where someone has gone through the whole storyline and they haven't gotten back their companions yet that they could romance. Jedi Consular is a perfect example. So far only one of their companions is back, the other 4 are still missing.

 

Also if they are reset I know that when you go through the conversations with them you earn both DS or LS points plus either XP or CXP if at 70, someone could essentially reset the conversations then then farm CXP by doing them all over again.

 

Unless the reset or change is extremely expensive but I know those that have a lot of money probably could take advantage of that.

That would be a possibility. The way I would probably work it is that the conversations after the gender change do not earn rewards. As far as price tag goes, I would think $10-20 is reasonable

They'll never allow gender/faction changes because they're too deeply embedded into the core gameplay functionality.

I've said all along is that the best we'll ever get is something like we got on Iokath: a temporary hybrid specific to one story area that doesn't carry over outside of it.

If you're lucky maybe we'll get some sort of mission where you get to go undercover as the other gender.

Like Iokath, it won't be permanent and it won't alter anything significant outside its own storyline.

They'll never allow gender/faction changes because they're too deeply embedded into the core gameplay functionality.

 

I've said all along is that the best we'll ever get is something like we got on Iokath: a temporary hybrid specific to one story area that doesn't carry over outside of it.

If you're lucky maybe we'll get some sort of mission where you get to go undercover as the other gender.

Like Iokath, it won't be permanent and it won't alter anything significant outside its own storyline.

Editing the existing code is not the only option, adding code is a whole other ball game. If done right, I believe it is fully possible.

As the title suggests I will be tackling the ideas of all of these as a possibility as purchaseables upon the Cartel Market.

 

Level Boosting

 

First off is probably the easiest to conceptualize. We already have Level Tokens which allow us to make a character that starts off at 60 or 65, however we do not have a boost available for characters that already have been made.

 

First concern that I will address will be what I saw on the forums a while back. That is that the boost would be non-optimal due to the storyline. What I would propose is that the level boost act exactly like the Level Token in terms of storyline decisions, except with the addition of keeping the equipment and titles you gained levelling through the storyline.

 

Q&A:

 

Q. Why would we need a level boost when we already have the token? Why not just use the token?

A. Well, this is really an option that I feel fits better then the token. Boosting a characters level would be for having a boosted character with some story titles. Or in my case, for boosting a character I am too disinterested in who has a lot of really cool stuff from the old days that are bound.

You were too disinterested in that character to take the minimal time to level it to 70 during the recent 250% XP boost event that lasted for almost two months but we're supposed to believe that being able to "boost" that character to 60 or 65 is going to suddenly and magically make you "interested" in that character again?

If you create a new level 60 or level 65 character, all the story choices are "default". They are likely applied via a "template" based on the class you choose. Thus, there are no worries about which titles were "earned", which companions were romanced, how far along the "romance" a player is, what quests have been completed, etc.

If you "boost" a character from say level 40 to 65, the system would have to "examine" that character with a "fine tooth comb" to track every flag that has been set by choices made, quest completed, etc. That is a lot more "work" or coding than simply applying a "template" to a new character.

Gender Changes

 

Now this one is also pretty easy to imagine, the only thing I can see holding a gender change back would be the relationships that certain NPCs have with you. My solution would be to just reset those relationships.

 

Alternatively, since I do not know how embedded in the code the gender is, the change could be purely aesthetic. Giving the player the voice and look of the opposing gender, but keeping interactions the same as they would've been pre-change. This might actually add a bit of Roleplay to the gender change as it would appear like your character actually went though a gender transition.

BW has stated that gender changes will not be an option due to all the "flags" that a character sets with their choices as they progress through the story.

Faction Changes

 

Also an easy one. A faction change can literally be as easy as making the other side version exactly like a Level Token character except with the equipment of what they had on the other faction.

As with gender changes, BW has stated that faction changes will not be an option due to all the "flags" that a character sets with their choices as they progress through the story.

_________________________________________________________________________________________

 

Any questions I can answer please ask. Any flaws in my post, please point out.

Editing the existing code is not the only option, adding code is a whole other ball game. If done right, I believe it is fully possible.

Why is it that when someone wants something, it seems they often claim it is "easy", "only a few hours worth of coding" or "fully possible if done right"? Many people make these claims even though they have no experience with coding of any sort. Something as simple as "change flag X value from 'Y' to 'N' " can cause massive problems in other areas. The "butterfly effect" is a very real concern when it comes to programming and coding, under the best of circumstances.

If I am not mistaken, this game is running on a heavily modified "alpha" version of the hero engine. There are no devs left who were involved in the modification process, so no one on staff knows what modifications were made, or how those modifications were coded, let alone how trying to "add code" to "reset" all the "flags" from story lines would interact with the existing code.

People need to learn to accept that that level <insert level here> character is going to remain a <insert gender here>, <insert faction here> character and will remain level <insert previous inserted level here> until the player puts forth the effort to actually level that character.

You were too disinterested in that character to take the minimal time to level it to 70 during the recent 250% XP boost event that lasted for almost two months but we're supposed to believe that being able to "boost" that character to 60 or 65 is going to suddenly and magically make you "interested" in that character again?

 

If you create a new level 60 or level 65 character, all the story choices are "default". They are likely applied via a "template" based on the class you choose. Thus, there are no worries about which titles were "earned", which companions were romanced, how far along the "romance" a player is, what quests have been completed, etc.

 

If you "boost" a character from say level 40 to 65, the system would have to "examine" that character with a "fine tooth comb" to track every flag that has been set by choices made, quest completed, etc. That is a lot more "work" or coding than simply applying a "template" to a new character.

 

 

 

 

BW has stated that gender changes will not be an option due to all the "flags" that a character sets with their choices as they progress through the story.

 

 

 

 

As with gender changes, BW has stated that faction changes will not be an option due to all the "flags" that a character sets with their choices as they progress through the story.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Why is it that when someone wants something, it seems they often claim it is "easy", "only a few hours worth of coding" or "fully possible if done right"? Many people make these claims even though they have no experience with coding of any sort. Something as simple as "change flag X value from 'Y' to 'N' " can cause massive problems in other areas. The "butterfly effect" is a very real concern when it comes to programming and coding, under the best of circumstances.

 

If I am not mistaken, this game is running on a heavily modified "alpha" version of the hero engine. There are no devs left who were involved in the modification process, so no one on staff knows what modifications were made, or how those modifications were coded, let alone how trying to "add code" to "reset" all the "flags" from story lines would interact with the existing code.

 

People need to learn to accept that that level <insert level here> character is going to remain a <insert gender here>, <insert faction here> character and will remain level <insert previous inserted level here> until the player puts forth the effort to actually level that character.

Well, that was a relatively well worded comment. Very enlightening on many factors. I for one had no idea about the hero engine being a modified alpha, which takes all these ideas and promptly flushes them down the toilet. Which would have been enough of a comment to render my arguments null.