No doubt. I imagine they're trying to get as many subs as possible before Tera, The Secret World and Guild Wars 2 hit.
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BioWare doing anything and everything to keep players logging in to SW:TOR
- Thread starter vaelic
- Start date
No doubt. I imagine they're trying to get as many subs as possible before Tera, The Secret World and Guild Wars 2 hit.
They also had to pull a major feature from the 1.2 patch that alot of people were looking forward to. Such a major thing pulled usually means compensation of some form
Wow, thanks for explaining my motivations to me. And I thought I just wanted to have some online RPG adventures with my friends!
Bro-Tip: I played a shitload of Star Wars Galaxies, which is about as far from modern theme park MMOs as you can get. I not a WoW-weaned simpleton demanding more of the same.
That's not something you do out of the kindness of your heart. I highly doubt that was their motivation. The fact that you have to RESUB and pay to get the free month is immediately going to turn many ex-players off, it's not the same as offering them a free month in hopes of getting them to return after. If they take their free month and quit again, Bioware literally needs to double their subs to break even on this deal since they gave it out to everyone else as well. If they get a 10% increase from what they have now, they need to retain a 10% margin over their current for 10 friggin months in order to break even from this deal.
That's not shit you do haphazardly. If they weren't worried about LOSING current customers as well as trying to re-kindle old accounts, they wouldn't do it, period.
I imagine ranked PVP just wasn't done. They probably learned their lesson from Ilum.
The issue was that they didn't tell anyone they were pulling it until a few hours before the servers went down for the patch. There was a lot of backlash about how they handled it.
how're we running through the same dungeon? It's not. Content is scaled and there is the piggyback system. Sure you have lvl 1-60 areas for your own race but that is for EACH race. Once you finish your own race area, you can experience entirely NEW content for other races. This is hardly going to get old. In WoW and other MMOs, you can go back and do the lower quest stuff but it's boring because you're so high level and the quests feel irrelevent. Not in GW2.
I agree, they just want there old subs back
Actually it's quite a good deal. They had a deal running where old accounts can play for free April 13-20th and you get two months for the price of one. (15 dollars and One free month)
Which is why it makes no sense give away a free month if SWTOR is in massive amounts of trouble. Our game is losing subs and we are in huge trouble! Better give a month away for free to everyone and lose a ton of money as a result.
I would be agreeing with you if the free month came out in late February and didn't have a major update backing it up.
I don't really know as to why Ranked PVP was cut but I am well aware of the backlash.
FieryBalrog
Member
In terms of concurrency of users, WoW was never king. It was only king amongst paying users, which it still probably is. League is at what, 11 million monthly now? Huge, but the vast majority are F2Pers like with any F2P game.
Runescape had tens of millions of concurrent users years ago, didn't it? These browser based games (of which there are tons), along with Facebook shit like Farmville, still have bigger concurrent user bases than any of these.
Game seems ok. Played a lot of beta but just couldn't get into it. Plus, I still hate the characters models and graphics in general, but I can understand why they went that route. Hopefully they can get more content out there before there's a serious exodus. Guild Wars 2 is coming.
lastplayed
Member
Now there's a box quote.
speculawyer
Member
Damn. Now I understand why EA's stock has tanked.
Alex
Member
I think the first third of it was really fun, after all that wow it was also nice to see coop bits again and actually be able to die from time to time but around that point it manages to go from fun to slog quick, at least for me. I'd still like an offline imperial agent RPG, really like the aesthetics and story of that one.
FieryBalrog
Member
The original free month offer required a paying sub as of April 12th, the day of the offer. So returning players couldn't take advantage of it at all.
Unless you're saying their plan to extend the offer was there all along, and the "we listened to the fans!!" was all play acting.
It honestly would surprise me.
Why do companies try so hard to make games completely voice acted? You can create so much more RPG content quicker when you don't have to rely on voice actors. Are gamers unwilling to read anymore? Because those same gamers that skip text are the same ones that will speed click through the voice dialog.
Two big expansions were done to Morrowind while only one was done for Oblivion. Guarantee that if voice acting wasnt there, we would have seen more.
Also it lowers the amount of total dialog. Text based games could provide much more backstory.
Two big expansions were done to Morrowind while only one was done for Oblivion. Guarantee that if voice acting wasnt there, we would have seen more.
Also it lowers the amount of total dialog. Text based games could provide much more backstory.
half a moon
Banned
They wanted to improve the single player experience and 1-UP WoW. The problem is everything else that matters at end game isn't polished.
They should have only voiced the class quests/dungeons. The planet (non-class) quests were by and large worthless, tedious, and boring. I would think that would cut out at least half or more of the dialogue they needed to record
I guess they wouldn't have been able to advertise a "fully voiced MMO" though in that case
I guess they wouldn't have been able to advertise a "fully voiced MMO" though in that case
People like Immersion in their games these days and well acted voice over adds more then simple text does. Also, the reasons for having fewer expansion were likely more to do with increased OVERALL development time/cost. Morrowind is 10 years old and looks the part, creating new assets in that engine probably takes a 3rd the time and money as creating new stuff for oblivion does. Same deal with skyrim, it's within the same console lifespan but it's still more robust , probably be a year before any major new content is out there. When it does hit it will likely be split up as DLC packages rather then a full expansion too. More money made and shorter dev times per module.
I actually played the maximum amount they let you, all the way up through Coruscant up until a cutscene played and it told me I couldn't go anywhere else. Played smuggler and actually really enjoyed it.
Saw absolutely NO reason to pay a subscription for multiplayer that seemed like it was just one or two sets of side quests per planet, plus whatever was at that little terminal.
Would buy if they dropped the monthly fee, though.
Maybe I should just finally go play Mass Effect.
Pretty much. Class quests were great. Everything else was not so great...
True but it's easier to believe that than thinking they wasted $200+ million on any of the other terrible aspects of the game.
Really, where did all that money go? Paying off reviewers, advertising, and viral marketers I'm sure was a nice chunk. Voice acting was another chunk. But combined they stil don't add up to $200+ million.
Such a waste.
Complistic
Member
I think people just can't figure out where else all that money went.
NervousXtian
Thought Emoji Movie was good. Take that as you will.
Hookers & Blow ain't cheap, yo.
krameriffic
Member
Clearly the only thing the game was lacking was enough second rate expository dialog explaining why I need to disembowel 12 imperial soldiers, 4 imperials officers and the imperial commander.
I don't know how much it costs, but given the lack of features and general condition of the game part of the fucking game upon its release, the only conclusion I can reach is that Nolan North and Jennifer Hale leverage extremely high salaries for their voice acting services.
FieryBalrog
Member
It is pretty excessive that there's a doom & gloom thread on SWTOR like every 3 days.
I do feel like EA and BioWare have been having more and more "Free-to-Play for a weekend!!!" events for SW:TOR than any other MMO that I can recall in the past, which does lead me to assume that the game may not be doing quite as well as they want.
I feel like the game is doing just fine, but this definitely shows that TOR is struggling with the exact same problem that literally every MMO ever has had to deal with: bringing in new and awesome content to keep players around in the 3+ months after release.
I feel like the game is doing just fine, but this definitely shows that TOR is struggling with the exact same problem that literally every MMO ever has had to deal with: bringing in new and awesome content to keep players around in the 3+ months after release.
Unless the rewards are equally rewarding to whatever other endgame things there are, it likely will get old. I really don't care much to do some other race's lowbie zone scaled to level 80 if I'm getting some some green "Hammer of Scaled Content" as the reward.
I H8 Memes
Member
Sounds like APB all over again.
This is something that should be addressed. When one looks at the lack of variety of locations, size of areas, and the lack of systems that should have been in the game the one thing that does look like it got a LOT attention above and beyond everything else is the voice work. Which is sad because that's the least important part of a MMO. If you want to have it you only need at certain times to really showcase a situation that is important.
krameriffic
Member
I don't know that I'd go that far. SWTOR has a built in group of fans who will defend it and love and cherish it until the day they die. APB was this weird, rushed thing that nobody on earth seemed to like.
FieryBalrog
Member
Bioware couldn't make it as bad as APB if they tried.
And speaking of only needing voice acting at certain times, they spent all that time on money on voice overs...
yet none of the emotes have voice work.
No "I'm out of mana (force, whatever)"
No /attack saying "Attack!"
No /burp burping
No /fart farting
No /joke or /silly saying something humorous
But yeah, like you said looking at the game itself it's impossible to tell where all this money went. We can see where it didn't go though.
May be it will sell slightly better in the end due to high shipment numbers and day 1 sales but the next entry might see a large drop-off.
Mammoth Jones
Member
The problem for me personally was how dry the game feels. And I mean, I'm a die hard Star Wars fan. I'm a die hard MMO fan. I will always be subscribed to an MMO. I truly believe in the potential for the genre. But EA/BW tried to out-WoW WoW and that's a big fucking no-no.
The 1-50 leveling process is fun due to the cutscenes. It keeps the some ole quests and gives them a nice bit of candy to drive me to finish them up. I want to know "what happens" in the next cut scene.
But the problem is if you strip that away what you end up with is a very bland, generic, MMO.
In no particular order there are my gripes -or- my desired features that aren't in the game that would keep me subbed:
-Modular world design. Each planet doesn't feel like a world. It feels like levels boxed in and only connected by Flight Paths...er...speeder paths.
-No day/night cycle. While I'm sure some douchebag producer figured it's not a big deal it REALLY affected immersion for me. SWG did it nearly 10 years ago but this game can't do it for different planets?
-No minigames. Pazak? Pod racing? Gambling? Where are the quality of life minigames? The type of "little thoughtful bits of content" that keeps bored players logging in when they have 30 minutes on a Saturday afternoon just to shoot the shit?
-PvP is a boring mess. ROTTWORMS HAVE THE BALL! is all I really need to say about how shitty pvp is in this game. That and combat medic nerfs. The genre has had a decade and no one has figured out how to do LARGE SCALE world pvp without instancing? Fuck the same pvp battlegrounds...er...warzones. I want to see a huge battle on Hoth.
-Space. It's a damn shame that the entire space experience in this game is basically a glorified iPhone app. Jump to Lightspeed was a superior space experience in almost every way.
-Player housing. I know my ship is suppose to be my "house" but what good does that do if I'm the only one that can go in it and can't use it to interactive with other ships (see above). Can't add furniture or customize it...nothing. Weak.
-Endgame. I don't care about raids. Er...ops. I just want to have some fun. What I don't want to do is spend the next 5 hours killing mobs JUST for a chance for a piece of loot to drop. I'm completely done with the gear grind if it can't also find a way to be fun. spending an hour forming a group with no LFG system and then 4 hours wiping because the group isn't ideal formation isn't my idea of fun.
-Framerate issues. My computer isn't top of the line but with some minor tweaks I can run Skyrim @ 2048x1156 at 60fps rock solid. WoW of course at 60fps with 2472938729734 players on screen. And while I expect to have to turn some things down I shouldn't be looking at a slideshow on the Republic Fleet whenever I want to sell some goods.
In the end this game just isn't very good at capturing the Star Wars experience to me. I long for an MMO that has a themepark leveling process but has a sandbox endgame structure. I don't know why sandbox gameplay elements can't exist within an endgame that also has raids. I don't mind the gear grind at endgame. I've done it before. But there needs to be more to do that grind to get +5 attack gear...etc.
The 1-50 leveling process is fun due to the cutscenes. It keeps the some ole quests and gives them a nice bit of candy to drive me to finish them up. I want to know "what happens" in the next cut scene.
But the problem is if you strip that away what you end up with is a very bland, generic, MMO.
In no particular order there are my gripes -or- my desired features that aren't in the game that would keep me subbed:
-Modular world design. Each planet doesn't feel like a world. It feels like levels boxed in and only connected by Flight Paths...er...speeder paths.
-No day/night cycle. While I'm sure some douchebag producer figured it's not a big deal it REALLY affected immersion for me. SWG did it nearly 10 years ago but this game can't do it for different planets?
-No minigames. Pazak? Pod racing? Gambling? Where are the quality of life minigames? The type of "little thoughtful bits of content" that keeps bored players logging in when they have 30 minutes on a Saturday afternoon just to shoot the shit?
-PvP is a boring mess. ROTTWORMS HAVE THE BALL! is all I really need to say about how shitty pvp is in this game. That and combat medic nerfs. The genre has had a decade and no one has figured out how to do LARGE SCALE world pvp without instancing? Fuck the same pvp battlegrounds...er...warzones. I want to see a huge battle on Hoth.
-Space. It's a damn shame that the entire space experience in this game is basically a glorified iPhone app. Jump to Lightspeed was a superior space experience in almost every way.
-Player housing. I know my ship is suppose to be my "house" but what good does that do if I'm the only one that can go in it and can't use it to interactive with other ships (see above). Can't add furniture or customize it...nothing. Weak.
-Endgame. I don't care about raids. Er...ops. I just want to have some fun. What I don't want to do is spend the next 5 hours killing mobs JUST for a chance for a piece of loot to drop. I'm completely done with the gear grind if it can't also find a way to be fun. spending an hour forming a group with no LFG system and then 4 hours wiping because the group isn't ideal formation isn't my idea of fun.
-Framerate issues. My computer isn't top of the line but with some minor tweaks I can run Skyrim @ 2048x1156 at 60fps rock solid. WoW of course at 60fps with 2472938729734 players on screen. And while I expect to have to turn some things down I shouldn't be looking at a slideshow on the Republic Fleet whenever I want to sell some goods.
In the end this game just isn't very good at capturing the Star Wars experience to me. I long for an MMO that has a themepark leveling process but has a sandbox endgame structure. I don't know why sandbox gameplay elements can't exist within an endgame that also has raids. I don't mind the gear grind at endgame. I've done it before. But there needs to be more to do that grind to get +5 attack gear...etc.
Really? This is a troll post, right?.
There is no "Fart" emote in the game therefore where did all the money go?
What's wrong with you?
they did.....
Mammoth Jones
Member
Not saying I agree but it's one of those quality of life things that makes the game more palatable. Don't get me wrong if the game were everything I wanted BUT it didn't have voiced emotes I'm not going be like "Almost had my money EA...but no emotes...no sale!"
XD
Mammoth Jones
Member
Skyrim feels more like an MMO to me because it's in an interconnected world. I can walk between locations. Or I can ride my mount. Or I can just quicktravel.
There is actually a /fart emote in the game. I'm just pointing out that, along with all the other emotes, has no sound effect. Which just goes to show that not only did they half ass the rest of the game, they half assed aspects of the voice work too.
But hey, you're making TOR OT 2, right? Good luck with that. When more people talk about how they dislike the game you can post tampon pics and you and the 3 other people that post there more than they play can relish in the fact that it'll probably have more views than TOR has subscribers.
These fucking threads.
"Bioware thread guise!"
"Let's get to work."
You should check these out:
Hope they help.
FieryBalrog
Member
Part of the drawback of Star Wars.
In fact, there is more than one drawback, only one of which is the cost. I don't think I can play a game with this style of aesthetics for very wrong. Red, brown, blue and gunmetal gray just isn't what I'm looking for in a virtual world.
Wow!
One person is talking about how players should work for unlocks in MMO rather than just hand over credits.
The other is making so convoluted argument that a game is some how half assed because /fart doesn't have a sound effect.