SWTOR

[Ingmar]

Some dude doesn't realize it's probably hurting them more than helping at this point.

Maybe. I've never really bought into the NDA-up-"oh they've got something to hide!!!" thing, especially with the very biggest publishers. Those decisions are not made by people who know the first thing about that stuff at a place like EA.

[Surlyboi]

Yeah, I'm not sure why they're still bothering with the NDA at this point. Between beta leak sites and Reddit posts, the massive amount of people who've played it at PAX, and the now-pissed-off weekend warriors from a couple weeks ago, I don't know why they just don't go ahead and open up the floodgates.

NDA going away means the storylines get spoiled.

This makes the most sense to me. And honestly, I was surprised by some of the story twists, so I'm cool with not letting cats out of bags.

[luckton]

Smuggler progression video is up. 

[Rasix]

Foot-in-the-groin CC. I approve.

[Sjofn]

Yeah, I'd just as soon not have the stories spoiled, because I'm a sap.

[Rasix]

This will likely be the first MMO to have a "spoilers go here" thread.  People can talk mechanics and gameplay without dicking over those who want to enjoy the story as it unfolds. 

[kildorn]

This will likely be the first MMO to have a "spoilers go here" thread.  People can talk mechanics and gameplay without dicking over those who want to enjoy the story as it unfolds. 

Look, in order to maximize your dps, you need to kill the dark jedi wookie on thidarti, and assign their gear to npc#12, then send them to gather..

Yeah, I think this is going to be spoilerriffic as the "I love story" and "MMOs are numbers, man!" crowds collide.

[Crumbs]

How are they going to prevent people from spamming "DARTH VADER IS LUKE'S FATHER" in all chat channels?  Do people who don't want the story ruined have to mute the whole game?   

[Nebu]

How are they going to prevent people from spamming "DARTH VADER IS LUKE'S FATHER" in all chat channels?  Do people who don't want the story ruined have to mute the whole game?   

Thanks.  You just ruined the story for me.

[Ingmar]

How are they going to prevent people from spamming "DARTH VADER IS LUKE'S FATHER" in all chat channels?  Do people who don't want the story ruined have to mute the whole game?   

...you leave chat channels on? 

[Sjofn]

How are they going to prevent people from spamming "DARTH VADER IS LUKE'S FATHER" in all chat channels?  Do people who don't want the story ruined have to mute the whole game?   

I'm not going to kill myself if I hear a spoiler or anything (I'm not that insane), but if I wind up having to turn off all the chat channels - like I almost certainly would do anyway, because I am a cranky ol' bitch - it's no biggie. The people of Slap in the Force are a lot more psychotic about hearing story spoilers than I am (except Fordel, who is sensitive to our needs), so that won't be an issue.

[kildorn]

I just next next finish through dialogue anyways. More lightsaber, less lightbanter.

[Paelos]

I just next next finish through dialogue anyways. More lightsaber, less lightbanter.

Wouldn't you want to know why you are attacking something though?

[Threash]

How are they going to prevent people from spamming "DARTH VADER IS LUKE'S FATHER" in all chat channels?  Do people who don't want the story ruined have to mute the whole game?   

...you leave chat channels on? 

Yeah, color me shocked that anyone with more than 2 days mmo experience has public chat channels on.

[Evildrider]

How are they going to prevent people from spamming "DARTH VADER IS LUKE'S FATHER" in all chat channels?  Do people who don't want the story ruined have to mute the whole game?   

...you leave chat channels on? 

Yeah, color me shocked that anyone with more than 2 days mmo experience has public chat channels on.

Uh where else am I gonna troll when I am bored.   

[Kirth]

Yes.... yes, your hate has made you strong. Now strike down the NDA and your journey towards the dark side will be complete.

[Sky]

So in other news, the weekend beta testers from a week or two ago are in a bit of a huff. Apparently Bioware went and changed the beta test FAQ regarding them from saying "While being a weekend tester does not guarantee you access to the test at a later date, you'll still be considered for subsequent testing" to essentially "You've all been removed from the testing pool. See you at release!"

They announced that at PAX or ze deutschecon, FAQ is just late catching up.

I don't give a shit about the NDA being up, it's not like any conversation post-NDA will be any better than it is now. And as silly as the NDA-bound thread is, it beats a couple months of beating the actual game into the ground.

[Lantyssa]

Maybe. I've never really bought into the NDA-up-"oh they've got something to hide!!!" thing, especially with the very biggest publishers. Those decisions are not made by people who know the first thing about that stuff at a place like EA.

I don't believe the "oh they've got something to hide" crap either.  But I cannot make an informed decision as long as the NDA is up.  When a company starts hyping pre-orders, they need to drop the NDA.

Frankly it's as good as a scam to me, because they're taking money while refusing to tell me what I'm getting.  That's what doesn't sit well with me.

[Evildrider]

I'm pretty sure the NDA is more about story spoilers than anything else.  I can't say more than that cuz  .

[Furiously]

So in other news, the weekend beta testers from a week or two ago are in a bit of a huff. Apparently Bioware went and changed the beta test FAQ regarding them from saying "While being a weekend tester does not guarantee you access to the test at a later date, you'll still be considered for subsequent testing" to essentially "You've all been removed from the testing pool. See you at release!"

They announced that at PAX or ze deutschecon, FAQ is just late catching up.

I don't give a shit about the NDA being up, it's not like any conversation post-NDA will be any better than it is now. And as silly as the NDA-bound thread is, it beats a couple months of beating the actual game into the ground.

Well.. each side will have points to back them up!

[Mosesandstick]

When did class roles become public knowledge? Basically we know what the classes can specialise at but thanks to the NDA we're practically now allowed to say anything else about it?

[Ingmar]

Just check here:

http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=300223

Given that's from the official forums it is probably a safe bet that anything there is OK for discussion here, and there's a LOT of info there.

[Mosesandstick]

Wow, that's a lot of information. Thanks.

[Velorath]

Maybe. I've never really bought into the NDA-up-"oh they've got something to hide!!!" thing, especially with the very biggest publishers. Those decisions are not made by people who know the first thing about that stuff at a place like EA.

I don't believe the "oh they've got something to hide" crap either.  But I cannot make an informed decision as long as the NDA is up.  When a company starts hyping pre-orders, they need to drop the NDA.

Frankly it's as good as a scam to me, because they're taking money while refusing to tell me what I'm getting.  That's what doesn't sit well with me.

Does it really matter if the NDA comes up a 1 month ahead of release rather than 3?  Won't that be when we get the most accurate picture of what the game is going to look like at launch anyway?  I don't know, aside from MMO's and some shooters, most publishers don't give the general public extended amounts of hands-on time with a game before release, let alone let people play it without an NDA in place.  Calling that a scam just strikes me as some sort of feeling of entitlement MMO players seem to have these days.

Most forms of media have embargoes.  You generally won't see reviews for movies until a day before release.  You don't really have a situation where a studio says "we have so much confidence in this movie, we're letting everyone publish reviews a month early", and there's very valid P.R. and marketing reasons why.  If you really don't want to part with your money until you know what you're getting, the simple solution is to just wait for the product to be released.

[Malakili]

  Calling that a scam just strikes me as some sort of feeling of entitlement MMO players seem to have these days.

I think its just gotten to the point that we've been burned by MMO launches so many times now that it makes us uneasy to be in the dark.

[Lantyssa]

I was going to talk about false analogies, different media, manufacturer imposed rarity, and other stuff, but this game isn't worth it.  It's stupid how much leeway is given to the MMO industry, but whatever.

Buyer beware.  I follow that philosophy, and I'll do so here as well.

[UnSub]

I can't imagine Blizzard is seriously worried about D3 sales in relation to SWTOR unless that want to just fuck over EA for the hell of it.  Diablo 3 is going to be selling copies at full price for the next 8 years.  TOR has to make a huge splash immediately or risk nuking its population so much that it isn't sustainable.

This. If SWOR flops, it's a huge impact against Activision Blizzard's biggest competitor. If SWOR succeeds, it could eat into WoW profits.

Launch D3 - the non-sub game - on the same day as SWOR and let players choose either dungeon crawling or lightsaber fights.

Regarding the NDA: it's a shield. "We can't talk about that yet - it's under an NDA." It isn't so much hiding things as not being made to answer queries publicly on things that may still change.

[Sky]

They've been very honest about answers like that, though. While there are unannounced things still out there, they've actually said they don't want to talk about unfinished features, even announced ones, because of the way things change in testing. And then they've jokingly given examples of how that has bitten them in the ass a couple times already (announcing things that later got changed in testing).

NDA is just status quo, and I imagine story factors into that quite a bit. Though the leaks have been surprisingly respectful of the story.

[Surlyboi]

I, for one, couldn't give a fuck about D3. I'm in on this bitch at launch and from what I've seen at , I'll be playing it 'til the goddamn cows come home.

[kildorn]

I, for one, couldn't give a fuck about D3. I'm in on this bitch at launch and from what I've seen at , I'll be playing it 'til the goddamn cows come home.

So what you're saying is, there's a secret cow level.

[Lakov_Sanite]

Most forms of media have embargoes.  You generally won't see reviews for movies until a day before release.

Um...

[Reg]

Are you people seriously unable to find enough leaks about the beta test?

[eldaec]

You don't even need the leaks, with the exception of opinions of specific testers there is really nothing worthwhile that you don't already know from official sources.

[Lantyssa]

Are you people seriously unable to find enough leaks about the beta test?

I could find leaks, but the people doing such aren't trying to sell me a game.

It boils down to this:  I have certain standards and expectations.  They may not be shared with a lot of people, they may seem unreasonable to your point of view.  It doesn't matter, because I don't compromise past a certain point.  If you want me to buy something, then tell me about your product when I ask.

[Reg]

That's fine by me. Is someone here pressuring you to play it or something?