What's going right/wrong with launch...

[jakonovski]

it seems like Origin has run out of codes for the digital copies 

A friend of mine, who preordered on Origin, just texted me to tell that he hasn't received his key and likely won't until the grace period runs out. My physical copy arrived last Friday, so it's kind of funny.

[Threash]

I keep reading people talking about RIFTs flawless launch and how it was the paragon of pre-access/launch planning.

So was the RIFT that had launch day queues a different game or what? I'm confused.

Their wait times were VASTLY over estimated, that queue was probably 5 mins long.

[DraconianOne]

Their wait times were VASTLY over estimated, that queue was probably 5 mins long.

It was more to make a point that there were repeated news articles and comments about login queues when RIFT launched with reports of 1hr plus wait times. I just find it amusing that people keep making reference to what's implied to have been a flawless, queueless launch when it quite clearly wasn't.

[Numtini]

Origin codes should have been sent by email a few days ago.

(edit, code sold)

[luckton]

What's weird is that I'm in Goon Squad and our server hasn't had long queues whenever I've tried to log in in the afternoon. I mean, and this is a server with two Goon guilds, and a NeoGAF guild.

Don't forget AIE.  It's like BW intentionally put all of the supergroup internet guilds together on one server just to see how you all would get along with each other  

[DraconianOne]

Origin codes should have been sent by email a few days ago. (Origin didn't cancel my order despite my request--I have one for the electronic CE if anyone wants to pay pal me for it.)

Is that the Digital Deluxe version? Yeah, I might be interested.  (EDIT: Sent you a PM)

[UD_Delt]

Origin codes should have been sent by email a few days ago. (Origin didn't cancel my order despite my request--I have one for the electronic CE if anyone wants to pay pal me for it.)

Yep, I ordered on Origin as well and got my code a couple days ago.

[Murgos]

Origin codes should have been sent by email a few days ago. (Origin didn't cancel my order despite my request--I have one for the electronic CE if anyone wants to pay pal me for it.)

Yep, I ordered on Origin as well and got my code a couple days ago.

Same, I think I got my code on the 16th.  Whoever it was who says they didn't get their code should check back a few days/check their spam filter.

[Mrbloodworth]

it seems like Origin has run out of codes for the digital copies 

A friend of mine, who preordered on Origin, just texted me to tell that he hasn't received his key and likely won't until the grace period runs out. My physical copy arrived last Friday, so it's kind of funny.

My Origin retail key was sent to me on the 16th.

[Thrawn]

What's weird is that I'm in Goon Squad and our server hasn't had long queues whenever I've tried to log in in the afternoon. I mean, and this is a server with two Goon guilds, and a NeoGAF guild.

I'm on Veela where Starfleet Dental is and it had queues at 8am yesterday.

Didn't join the Goon Squad server since for some terrible unknown reasons they rolled on a PvE server.  

So I ran Hammer Station for the first time last night and it was a huge dissapointment.  Esselles had a nice story line too it, cut scenes, social options, choices, flowed really nice.  Then Hammer was just a 100% typical MMO short run through, tank and spank, everything done.  No storyline, no chats, no cut scenes, nothing.  Did they just make Esseles really nice and story driven and then get lazy on everything after?

[murdoc]

What's weird is that I'm in Goon Squad and our server hasn't had long queues whenever I've tried to log in in the afternoon. I mean, and this is a server with two Goon guilds, and a NeoGAF guild.

I'm on Veela where Starfleet Dental is and it had queues at 8am yesterday.

Didn't join the Goon Squad server since for some terrible unknown reasons they rolled on a PvE server.  

So I ran Hammer Station for the first time last night and it was a huge dissapointment.  Esselles had a nice story line too it, cut scenes, social options, choices, flowed really nice.  Then Hammer was just a 100% typical MMO short run through, tank and spank, everything done.  No storyline, no chats, no cut scenes, nothing.  Did they just make Esseles really nice and story driven and then get lazy on everything after?

So far, everything I've run has been like Hammer Station. Hardly any interaction other than (there's a group of x in a room and if you do y they live and you get light side points and if you do z they die and you get dark side points. It's quite disappointing after how interactive Black Talon was.

[Wolf]

I wonder how many people got on board thinking everything is like Black Talon. I know I did before I was corrected here.

[sam, an eggplant]

For a VERY VERY VERY long time, black talon and esselles represented half of the flashpoints in the game-- each faction had only 2. This was one of the top items I really wanted to break NDA to talk about, but then a couple months ago they added quite a few more flashpoints, so I figured they fixed it. If the new ones suck, maybe not so much.

[01101010]

I wonder how many people got on board thinking everything is like Black Talon. I know I did before I was corrected here.

Part of me was hoping, the other part of me was too busy yelling at the fucktard PUG to select a fucking response so we could get on with it...and of course, there was always that one person who was lagging so badly that everyone would have selected their responses and we'd have to wait 5-10 minutes for the guy's network to function. While I liked BT a lot from the story perspective, it did not go without its frustrations.

[Sobelius]

Hmmmm.  Some rambling thoughts...


I also ran Hammer Station for the first time last night. Our grouped mused about the lack of dialog and were all OK with it being a straightforward combat mission, especially after the 2 hours it can take to run Esseles in full-dialog mode. We liked the idea that there might be some variety among the "dungeons" -- some more combat oriented, some more story-oriented. We're looking at doing the Athiss flashpoint next. So you're saying it's just another combat-only dungeon, and so are all the others to come?

If so, my guess is that they ran out of time to make every flashpoint as fleshed-out as Esseles, or they concluded that adding more flashpoint content after launch would be too time/resource intensive if they made every one a VO-fest. So to set expectations, they launched with "minimal" story flashpoints as well as a couple of VO-ones. This way, if they deliver a VO-flashpoint in future content, people will be happy. If they deliver a non-VO or minimal-VO flashpoint, people may complain but won't be expecting every flashpoint to be a VO-flashpoint.

They also might have been second-guessing themselves on how willing/interested people would be in groups/pugs to endure multiple runs through VO-flashpoints. Too bad, since the heavy story and dialog options in Esseles made it more memorable, IMHO, than Hammer Station.

We liked the combat challenge of Hammer Station compared to the ease of Esseles, but we also enjoyed the story elements of Esseles as a new kind of "group experience."

[Viin]

I'd like to do a PvP version of BT, where the end boss is a Republic group instead of the NPC Jedi. We win the mission if we can defeat them, they win if they can defeat us (and save the general).

Nice small PvP encounter rather than the masses in a battleground/huttball.

[murdoc]

I'd love a PvP Operation/Flash Point like Darkness Falls in DAoC. Tying story elements into it would be fantastic, but a pipe dream I think.

[01101010]

I'd like to do a PvP version of BT, where the end boss is a Republic group instead of the NPC Jedi. We win the mission if we can defeat them, they win if they can defeat us (and save the general).

Nice small PvP encounter rather than the masses in a battleground/huttball.

But what happens to my dark side points from that "decision" then? And I dunno how well this would be received outside of PvP servers... there are a lot of people who don't like PvP in their game.

[Viin]

I didn't say it would be *required* but it would be a nice option.

Your decisions still stand, you might just miss out on the final 'capture him alive' or 'kill him' dialog choice if you lost the encounter with the other group. Or maybe there'd be an alternative one. (like the option to kill the captain for a second time, since obviously he didn't send enough troopers to support you).

[Mrbloodworth]

I have done the black talon 3 times, and it has gone three different ways ( Literally ). I was quite happy about that.

[Fabricated]

So far I've ran Eselles, Hammer, and Athiss and yeah I'm kinda disappointed at the lack of interactive story stuff in the latter two. I'm kinda torn though since as mentioned it takes like 1-2 hours to get through Eselles even with a good group. When you're running these later in heroic mode to get gear to raid you'd want to set yourself on fire if you had to sit through like 30 minutes or so of cutscenes and DS/LS choices every time; especially if your gear didn't drop.

Don't forget AIE.  It's like BW intentionally put all of the supergroup internet guilds together on one server just to see how you all would get along with each other  

So far the answer is "meh". I think as a guild GAF doesn't like us but I've had questing groups and instance groups with them and it's been fine.

Also, has anyone noticed the utter lack of healers? I mean, the tank to DPS ratio is actually really respectable and something like a 1:2, but finding a healing SPECCED healer is like trying to find a unicorn.

[luckton]

Also, has anyone noticed the utter lack of healers? I mean, the tank to DPS ratio is actually really respectable and something like a 1:2, but finding a healing SPECCED healer is like trying to find a unicorn.

I guess I'm a unicorn then.  Although I would  to pickup a DPS-spec and go to town with my solo missions, the utility I get and group invites from being a healer-speced healer are 

I also agree with you on the dungeons.  It seems like BT/Eselles were love letters that look like a lot of time and compassion went into them.  Everything since then has been a WoW-dungeon knock-off  .  As far as heroics go, have your group agree that if everyone's already done the dungeon before and cares not for the story, everyone spams the space-bar for the dialogues.  If everyone does, you can skip through all that noise pretty quick.

[01101010]

So far I've ran Eselles, Hammer, and Athiss and yeah I'm kinda disappointed at the lack of interactive story stuff in the latter two. I'm kinda torn though since as mentioned it takes like 1-2 hours to get through Eselles even with a good group. When you're running these later in heroic mode to get gear to raid you'd want to set yourself on fire if you had to sit through like 30 minutes or so of cutscenes and DS/LS choices every time; especially if your gear didn't drop.

Don't forget AIE.  It's like BW intentionally put all of the supergroup internet guilds together on one server just to see how you all would get along with each other  

So far the answer is "meh". I think as a guild GAF doesn't like us but I've had questing groups and instance groups with them and it's been fine.

Also, has anyone noticed the utter lack of healers? I mean, the tank to DPS ratio is actually really respectable and something like a 1:2, but finding a healing SPECCED healer is like trying to find a unicorn.

So I guess I should make Hob a sage heal spec? Will people love me then? I need some attention on the republic side....

[Nebu]

Everything since then has been a WoW-dungeon knock-off  .  As far as heroics go, have your group agree that if everyone's already done the dungeon before and cares not for the story, everyone spams the space-bar for the dialogues.  If everyone does, you can skip through all that noise pretty quick.

This has the potential to cause friction in the future. EX: New guy gets invited to a dungeon run and gets dropped from group because he won't spacebar spam past the cutscenes.  

I hate people.

[sam, an eggplant]

Also, has anyone noticed the utter lack of healers? I mean, the tank to DPS ratio is actually really respectable and something like a 1:2, but finding a healing SPECCED healer is like trying to find a unicorn.

There's no clique. TOR doesn't even have mouseover macros. Lots of WoW healers won't deal with that.

[luckton]

Everything since then has been a WoW-dungeon knock-off  .  As far as heroics go, have your group agree that if everyone's already done the dungeon before and cares not for the story, everyone spams the space-bar for the dialogues.  If everyone does, you can skip through all that noise pretty quick.

This has the potential to cause friction in the future. EX: New guy gets invited to a dungeon run and gets dropped from group because he won't spacebar spam past the cutscenes.  

I hate people.

New guy needs to form his own group and call the shots then.  The game never actually says who's holding up the group...just "Waiting on Party Members."

[kildorn]

There's also a problem where people don't "get" the other healers.

Sjofn apparently gets PLZ HEAL US tells all the time. I'm hanging out on the same planet as a healing specced smuggler, and have yet to get a single random tell about such things. People in general ask for sage healers for their groups, and seem shocked that there are actually two other healing classes.

Actually, every group I've been in so far had two healers, and one was fakedpsing.

[Thrawn]

Also, has anyone noticed the utter lack of healers? I mean, the tank to DPS ratio is actually really respectable and something like a 1:2, but finding a healing SPECCED healer is like trying to find a unicorn.

Yeah, never see anyone healing in PVP especially.  I normaly play a healer, but as soon as I saw you cannot mod or customize the UI I just went "fuck that" and rolled a tank/dps.

[Wolf]

I mostly want raid frames. Can I force them on in some way on group parties? It drives me insane, and I'm so used at playing whack-a-mole I very often forget to heal myself, because my health is way on the bottom.

[Mrbloodworth]

Op Frames.

TOR Tip - Using Focus Targets (Healing)

TOR Quick Tip 2 - Healing Frames (Party and Operations) SWTOR

[kildorn]

I mostly want raid frames. Can I force them on in some way on group parties? It drives me insane, and I'm so used at playing whack-a-mole I very often forget to heal myself, because my health is way on the bottom.

You can force their raid frames on in parties, yes. It's in the UI options, very bottom.

Note: you cannot bring companions to raids, so for some fucking stupid reason this means that if you use the raid frames YOU CANNOT SEE COMPANION HEALTH IN PARTIES.

Oh, and your bar does not appear in the raid frame. That would make too much fucking sense.

[luckton]

There's also a problem where people don't "get" the other healers.

I think some people do "get" them, because a lot of number crunching has already been done as far as the three healing types go.  The Sage/Sorc style has been deemed the most developed and efficient, one that doesn't require a master's degree in computer operation in order to do well at.  IA/Smug's come in second with Pally-style heals, and BH/Troops third due to the whole heat/ammo thing that eventually stop-gaps them if they're not careful.

[Thrawn]

Op Frames.

TOR Tip - Using Focus Targets (Healing)

TOR Quick Tip 2 - Healing Frames (Party and Operations) SWTOR

Thats a pretty significant improvment, thanks.  Might make healers playable for me.

[kildorn]

There's also a problem where people don't "get" the other healers.

I think some people do "get" them, because a lot of number crunching has already been done as far as the three healing types go.  The Sage/Sorc style has been deemed the most developed and efficient, one that doesn't require a master's degree in computer operation in order to do well at.  IA/Smug's come in second with Pally-style heals, and BH/Troops third due to the whole heat/ammo thing that eventually stop-gaps them if they're not careful.

Smugglers actually appear to be the most efficient, what Sages have is the ability to react instantly to the unexpected. That's pretty much the big change between Sages and the others: your group playing poorly punishes Smugglers and Troopers more than it obviously hurts Sages.

But from the playerbase commentary, there seems to be a mental disconnect that sawbones is even a spec. You don't see a commando or scoundrel and think "a healer!", you think "a dps!" the same way people see a sage and act stunned when they're DPS specced.

[Johny Cee]

Ugghhh.

I was going to give this a pass, but I'm breaking down!  Quick, more bad things about the release!