This week’s Q&A tackles a ton of questions regarding patch 1.3. We’ve taken one question out regarding the upcoming LFG tool and Daniels reiteration of it being only server only right now.

Mallorik: What is your philosophy on cross server LFG tools? Are we getting a same server tool just to hold us over while you work on cross server tech or is this just a test to see if a same server tool will do the job?

Daniel: Although we’re certainly willing to entertain the idea of cross-server LFG tools if the need arises, it’s a last resort for us. We firmly believe for cooperative play it is important to have a community and social responsibility that you simply can’t have with players appearing and disappearing from your reality. Instead we are pushing hard on servers that are massive compared to the ones we launched with. Early tests show we’ll be able to raise the peak concurrent user cap above what it was at launch. Combining that with server transfers to enable players to move to these new servers and fill them to the brim, we should see some fantastic, vibrant communities develop where Group Finder will always be able to find someone for your content.

Read the rest of the Q&A over at SWTOR’s community blog.

In a recent Massively interview with Daniel Erickson, Erickson briefly discussed BioWare’s vision for the group finder tool and the company’s reasoning behind the same-server limitation.

This is what he said, according to Massively’s follow-up article:

When asked if the new group finder would be cross-server, Erickson replied that it would be single-server because “we are coming up on a huge move to servers with massively higher population caps than we have today.”

Now, this could mean a couple of things. Click “continue reading” to find out more.

The same-server vs. cross-server argument for a group finder tool in an MMO has been a hotly-debated subject for a while now. The fact is, many people are on both sides of the fence, and both sides have pretty good points. One has to wonder, when looking at a statement like the one made above, whether Erickson is simply using PR magic and spinning the issue into something more positive than it really is. Is he simply stating the equivalent of, “Just like any other MMO, we’re allowing transfers finally”, or is he hinting at something… larger, something actually unique?

The possibility of one or two mega-servers in SWTOR definitely has potential. It would make desolate planets not seem quite as desolate, and there really would be no need for a cross-sever group finder tool. Our fleets would be packed, and players may experience some lag, but with increased stability, it’s a possibility that may just be obtainable with current technology.

It’s difficult to say at this point what Erickson actually meant. We still don’t have details about which servers are involved in the transfers, and until we have more information, it’s difficulty to, well, say much of anything.

As those in the United States get ready to take a break and head into a holiday weekend that kicks off the summer season, let’s also take a break from SWTOR to interject some interesting moments where Star Wars interjects itself into real life! The following story comes from JP Aerospace, an independent space program. They build rockets, airships, ion engines and high altitude balloon platforms. They conduct high altitude research as part of our Airship To Orbit (ATO) program.

Keep reading to find out more about their project.

They are an all volunteer group whose main goal is to create a space program that everybody can be part of. One of the big things they do to reach that goal is fly PongSats. PongSat stands for Ping Pong Ball satellite. Students put their experiment inside the Ping Pong ball tape it together and send it to us. We then fly it to the edge of space.

After landing, we send the PongSat back to the student along with a video of the flight along with a certificate and the data and picture sheet. The great part of the program is that all PongSats fly free. This is part of their mission as they don’t charge anything to fly PongSats. John Powell, our contact at JP Aerospace, always knows when a missions is coming up because hundreds of Ping Pong ball start showing up on his desk. They get six years olds and university professors flying PongSats that range from very simple, plant seeds or marshmallows that puffs up in vacuum and some are complex with computers and sensors. The Star Wars Legos were flown on a PongSat mission.

They were testing a new camera controller and wanted to do something fun. The X-Wing and Tie Fighter was mounted on a servo so the chase each other around the sky while we filmed them. They hoped the images would create get some attention for the PongSat program.

The star fighters flew on the Away 66 High Rack platform to 97,704 feet. The platform descended by parachute and landed forty miles downrange. This was their 137th high altitude mission and so far they have flown 6440 PongSats.

For more information on this mission you can visit their blog here: http://jpaerospace.com/blog/

On Tuesday, we received news that BioWare was bidding farewell to some of its members from the original SWTOR team. Here’s part of the announcement:

Originally posted by GregZeschuk (Source)

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Hey folks, since you’re reading this you may likely have heard that we’ve done some restructuring here on the SWTOR team. Sadly, we are bidding farewell to some talented, passionate and exceptionally hard-working people who helped make SWTOR a reality. Impacting people’s lives this way is always very hard, but we’re ensuring the affected people are treated with dignity, fairness and respect.

Development team layoffs aren’t exactly anything out of the ordinary for most MMOs, since it takes more people to development an MMO than to maintain it, but many SWTOR fans were surprised this time because of a statement made around the time the game launched.

Back in December of 2011, James Ohlen was quoted to have said this statement, which can be found at Gamasutra:

“Unlike a lot of other game companies that, once they launch a game, downsize their teams radically, our plan is to keep the team together and continue to focus on building content.”

Not all things go as planned, I suppose.

Yesterday we found out that Stephen Reid was among the company layoffs. He confirmed it via Twitter, when he gave this series of tweets:

“I was one of those affected by layoffs at BioWare Austin yesterday. I got to build an amazing team while I was there, and miss them already.

I’m also going to miss #SWTOR and the community we created. Sure, I know some of you hated me, but hey, I still worked hard for you.

I’ll be Twitter-quiet for a bit, but I’ll be back soon-ish. Doing something, somewhere, and talking about it here. I hope we keep talking.

Last but not least: I was quiet for the last couple of weeks because I was full-on devoted to #SWTOR character transfer. It’s still coming!

Now I’ve got to go, because you don’t want to see a grown man cry on Twitter. Also, I don’t know the emoticon for it.

Okay, now I’m really ;_; Thanks to all”

We wish Stephen Reid and everyone else affected the best of luck, and thank them for their time and commitment to Star Wars: The Old Republic.

Yesterday, BioWare released a video detailing some of the features being added to Game Update 1.3, which is being called Allies:

The video doesn’t contain either an estimated release date or any type of announcement regarding its arrival on the PTS. It is nice, however, to finally be able to view some of the in-game images of features in development, like the group finder UI and the server transfer window.

After the community viewed the video, some important questions were raised on the official SWTOR forums. Here is the official community response thread. Here is another thread that immediately popped up, questioning the group finder tool and the UI that is shown. In it, a few keen-eyed players noticed that in the UI shown in the video, there doesn’t seem to be any type of gear-based restrictions for choosing which hardmode flashpoints players can queue up for.

Here is the first post in the thread:

The pictures Bioware released of the LFG tool didn’t seem to include a gear check of any kind. What is preventing a level 50 in all green gear from queuing up for Devona or HM Lost Island?

The last thing we need is spending an hour in a queue for a group only to get stuck in a group that doesn’t even have the gear required to complete it and having to start over.

A gear check is very important or you will have many frustrated and annoyed players.

Clarification: I want a built in feature incorporated into the LFG tool that restricts what you can queue for based on level and gear rating. I do NOT want the restrictions players generated (like they CURRENTLY are in the game). Since the devs have created a gear gated game (enrage timers, tiered content, etc…) then it is obvious to me that they need a way to enforce such gating, which the preview of the LFG tool failed to show.

Many MMO gamers automatically reject any mention of the words “gear” and “check” placed together, but the simple fact is, there does need to be some type of natural gear-based checklist of sorts in place, ideally built straight into the system. Not all hardmode flashpoints are ideal for players very new to level 50, and the system needs to account for this. The easiest way? Gear requirements. RIFT, for example, has a built-in gear requirement system for their LFG system, and while not perfect, it does the job nicely without a large portion of the raging players recall regarding World of Warcraft’s gearscore system.

At this point, however, it’s very possible that an internal gear requirement system is in place, but it isn’t ready to be showcased. It’s also possible that in the video shown, the staff members who made the video were plenty geared for the content, and the system thus allowed full access. Until we hear the specifics from BioWare, we don’t know for sure.

With update 1.3 looming over our heads, the biggest feature people are looking forward to is the LFG feature. In a recent interview conducted by Darth Hater we get the following quote:

DH: One of 1.3′s biggest features is the Looking For Group tool. Can you explain how it will work and what areas of the game players can use it (i.e. Flashpoints, Heroic Quests, Operations, etc.)? If not initially in 1.3, will a future release make it cross-server too?

Damion Schubert, Lead Systems Designer: At the launch of this feature (Game Update 1.3), we will not be doing cross-server flashpoints. There are a couple of reasons – first off, it’s a significant technical achievement, and we felt that pursuing it would not allow us to get the feature to you guys as quickly as it needs to happen. Secondly, most of the design team thinks that it’s not necessarily good for the community. When the odds are very low that you will never group with another player again, there is very little social pressure to not be a complete jerk to that person, which is not a particularly positive game experience. We may revisit this decision in the future if our metrics show that flashpoint queues are not firing enough, but in general, queue firing should be more about distribution of key roles (tank, healer, DPS) than about overall population.

For us, this is a big failure in the system. If Bioware’s main reason for not launching a full cross-server LFG system is technical, we can understand that since the systems needed are quiet complicated. However, Damion’s second reason, emphasized above, is a pretty ignorant of the genre as a whole. With SWTOR losing subscriptions and now after a round of layoffs, they need all the positive gameplay elements they can get.

Let’s take a look at gaming history. With the debut of the system in Warcraft, it was one of the most highly praised systems to hit the genre in a very long time and revitalized a game completely. Not only were people spending more time in game, playing with more people than ever before at level cap, the leveling portion of the game saw new life as old dungeons were being run again.

Fast forward to RIFT, who launched a LFG feature shortly after launch that was server only. That was soon corrected as queues never popped or players had to way 40+ minutes for it to trigger. By now, there should be enough examples in the industry to show that you need to take people from the largest pools possible.

The latest MMORPG to launch, TERA, has a cross-server queuing system in place already, and it’s wildly popular. Players often only have to wait minutes before getting into a dungeon they want.

So why does Bioware think that cross-server queues would be bad for the community? You have to balance the random person being a dick with people having fun playing your game. Let’s be honest, people are used to having fast queue times after playing TERA, RIFT and WOW. Why does Bioware think they are different?

If Bioware is concerned about building communities, then they need to develop social tools for players to create their own circle of friends. For example, you group with random guy and you enjoyed playing with him. Give him a +internets, and next time you are queued for a dungeon, players with your +internets are prioritized to be grouped with you again. The whole scoring system can be internalized and no one would ever know what their scores are.

Bioware should be less concerned with random people causing a problem in a group, and be more concerned with getting players to play their game longer. More time waiting for a group to pop gives players more time to decide to log out.

Every so often, we’re going to be using this space to highlight some of the other awesome Star Wars: The Old Republic fan and community sites out there. This week, we’re showcasing a fantastic site brought to you by Dulfy, creator of Dulfy’s Healing Corner and Zoopercat, creator of Ask Mr. Robot: TOR Fashion!

TOR Fashion is a site dedicated to helping SWTOR players plan and pick out the perfect set of orange gear. Ever wanted to know what the various outfits look like when paired together? Now’s your chance. TOR Fashion contains over 191 unique armor sets and 2100 images, and it’s only been around for a couple weeks now. That means there’s a whole lot more to come.

Here’s what the creators have to say about the site’s mission:

The Orange Revolution

At Tor-fashion, we are very passionate about the idea of dressing the way you want and not restricted by game constraints. We firmly believe that we all want to look unique and special in our own way without looking like clones.

Patch 1.3, which will supposedly bring augment tables and social gear that adjust to your armor class, is the start of something we have dubbed The Orange Revolution. This revolution, we hope, will bring a proliferation in orange gear usage that allow players to uniquely tailor their look without hindering their stats or set bonuses.

The first few sparks of the revolution starts here! You can now start “shopping” for looks in preparation for patch 1.3!

As the French like to call it, Vive la Révolution!

Sounds pretty good, right? With so many, many gear sets obtainable in the game now, a site like this is exactly what we need to help us plan the perfect looks for our characters. Check ‘em out!

Developers have been quiet on the SWTOR official forums these last couple of weeks. Besides the weekly scheduled Q&A sessions and a few augment questions that were addressed, BioWare’s Dev Tracker has remained fairly empty.

Players have been awaiting more details about Game Update 1.3, especially information regarding the two features that are considered extremely needed by most of the community– a group finder tool and server transfers. Simply put, many of SWTOR’s servers are becoming rather threadbare due to the absence of both features. Instead of being rewarded with a detailed blog post, video, or a new PTS update, the community has been left with a handful of vague “coming soon” and “in the process of” statements, along with a very noticeable lack of forum updates.

Last week, this thread popped up in the General forums, questioning the lack of updates, and the issue of developer silence in general. Low and behold, it got a developer reply:

Originally posted by JovethGonzalez (Source)

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Hey folks,

I just wanted to clear up some things and let you know that we are listening and that more information regarding Game Update 1.3 will be coming soon. We’re in internal testing on the major features right now, and we’re getting closer every day to deploying Game Update 1.3 to the Public Test Server – but we can’t guarantee there won’t still be hurdles. We’re also working on several new developer blogs about Game Update 1.3 that we know you want to hear more about (including one about character transfer details). We know that you’re looking for specific details, but we want to avoid releasing any information that is incomplete. Rest assured that we are absolutely listening and are working to bring you the information you want.

We appreciate your discussions here on the forums and we’ll try our best to step in wherever we can (and we’re always here reading, gathering your concerns, and passing them on internally), but there will be times when we really can’t say anything. As a result, you’re going to be hearing a lot of “soon” and “we’re working on it” because that’s as specific as we can get right now. When we can get more specific, we will. If we’re quiet, it doesn’t mean we’re not listening and it certainly doesn’t mean we’re not working to bring you more information – our goal is to always bring you accurate information as soon as we can.

Thanks for your patience as our developers continue to work diligently on maintaining the quality of Game Update 1.3 and releasing it to you soon.

Yep, another “soon,” and interestingly enough, an admittance of silence. Later on, the thread received another developer reply. This one’s a bit more specific:

Originally posted by JovethGonzalez (Source)

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To clarify, we are working on a blog about character transfer details in ADDITION to development blogs about Game Update 1.3. The two are not necessarily tied together.

From this bit of information, and an earlier date regarding the promise of character transfers taking place in early summer, we can assume that character transfers will be taking place before Game Update 1.3, and the group finder, which is part of 1.3, will take place some time after that.

Until we hear more, it seems we’ll have to play the waiting game a little longer. In the meantime, here’s a player-created list containing all of the information gained so far about Game Update 1.3.

With game update 1.2 now in the past, the community is already looking forward to 1.3. IGN brings us a preview of the update along with an interview with James Ohlen. Here are a few highlights of that interview:

IGN: The group finder has been a requested feature since The Old Republic’s launch, though there seemed to be some initial resistance against the idea because it would disrupt the flow of exploration. Why is now the right time to implement it? And does it support cross-server play?

Daniel Erickson: In the early days post-launch we wanted players to be discovering the game for the first time and forming natural social groups. A huge wave of players come in all at once in the beginning and finding a group is never really a problem for the bulk of players. Now players have spread all across the leveling curve and the Legacy system is causing players to roll new characters like never before which means we need a simple, flexible system to put players together with other players in their level band. We still want to respect the communities that have developed on servers so it does not support cross-server play.

While I think many players would disagree with Daniel’s statement for waiting on a dungeon finder, it is a most welcome addition to the game. From my point of view, I couldn’t find one dungeon group easily while leveling up at launch. Hopefully this helps new and old players alike.

Read the rest of the interview over at IGN and watch the included video. One of the other major features of the game update is crafting and augment slots.

By now, we all are probably familiar with the rumors spreading mass amounts of doom and gloom about SWTOR across the MMORPG community. Practically every forum and review site has at least a handful of negative opinions regarding the game. The term “TOR-tanic” is often used, comparing SWTOR to both a legendary disaster and a sinking ship. And then there’s this article, and others like it that seem to support these disastrous claims.

As if all the sinking ship images aren’t enough, EA has to throw us this iceberg. Now folks out there are really spreading doom and gloom about SWTOR, and it’s difficult to even avoid it over on the official forums. And I know– you’re wondering why I’m wasting my time discussing the negativity here, where actual fans of the game want to read about cool stuff, and not leaky framework hulls and wildfire-filled articles. Sometimes, I think it’s important to embrace a portion of negativity– a bit of the storm– because it lets us look at our games objectively, and discover what really matters to us in an MMO.

Star Wars: The Old Republic was ridiculously hyped. Star Wars fans, Knights of the Old Republic fans, Star Wars Galaxies fans, BioWare fans, and MMORPG fans all rallied together, readying themselves for a game that probably never existed. Plenty of gamers were disappointed, but let’s look at one important fact here– It’s impossible to please everyone. Yep, let’s say it again. It’s impossible to please everyone.

Despite the game’s issues, the number one reason why SWTOR failed to deliver for so many gamers is the fact that everyone had different expectations. Some came in expecting an epic single-player story, full of meaningful choices and an endgame that continued the leveling storylines. Some came in expecting raiding equal to World of Warcraft’s peak raiding period, with dynamically different fights and epically-proportioned challenges. Some came in expecting a direct sequel to games they’ve enjoyed for years. Others came in expecting open-world, cross-server PvP battles that took place over entire planets.

Was it impossible to please everyone from those groups? You bet. Will BioWare admit that? Of course not. That’d be terrible for PR. Instead, we saw a pinch of awesome features here and there, in an attempt to please the highest amount of players possible. Solid leveling storylines with a high dose of repetition that phase into straight repetition after reaching the leveling cap. Raids that are interesting, but aren’t challenging enough for many veteran raiders. Some cool SWG/KotOR tie-ins, but just as many departures. The ability to PvP and shoot starships from space, just with sturdily-attached rails.

Could BioWare and EA have done a better job in presenting this “compromise” of sorts that was supposed to reach as many eager fans as possible? Absolutely. Was EA’s handling regarding the issues in the above article right? Doubtful. Should SWTOR be considered an absolute failure as a result? Everyone’s opinion on this will differ, but I’m still of the opinion that SWTOR had a strong launch, still has a decent fanbase, and will provide solid content for a number of years to come. Will that content be released at a break-neck pace? Probably not, but not all games require that type of pacing to be successful.

The SWTOR fanbase, of course, has shrunk considerably. But let’s remember what I said before– fans approached the game with wildly-varying expectations. A large, large portion of the doom and gloom spreading everywhere we look is the remnants of gamers who came in looking for something very particular and found themselves disappointed. For players who approached the game with an open mind and a willingness to accept the game for what it was, settling into SWTOR wasn’t a battle, chore, or disastrous event– it was an enjoyable journey.

Myself, personally, I dived into SWTOR expecting solid story, enjoyable group content, fun classes, and an awesome science fiction atmosphere. Was that what I received? Yes. Are there times when I wish the game had a better questing system and more features? You bet. Game Update 1.3 offers two vitally important updates for me. Overall, the pros outweigh the cons, and at the end of the day, I realize why I’m still around. Is SWTOR sinking to the bottom of the MMO ocean? Not for me, and not for a lot of folks.

It’s difficult to deal with the burden of negativity at times, but all we can do, as fans of the game, is stay true to what we enjoy, and voice our opinions about the additions BioWare needs to make in order to improve our gameplay. Together we’ll weather the storm, survive the flames, and SWTOR will be a better game.