The Failure of SWTOR

[clamus68]

I read an interesting article that summarizes a great many things many people who have been objective about this game have been stating. I will copy and paste the link below. Give it a read and be objective because the author is writing an editorial so it is an opinion piece but it is concise and honest.

Top 5 Reasons Why SWTOR Failed | Swtor Life

[t3po]

I can't disagree with any of the points that the author made about his reasons why SWToR "failed". I put fail in parenthesis because for all the things that externally harmed the ability to grow and contend as a AAA game, it is still a solid, fun game to play. The servers (what's left anyway) are still up and I can still log in. Personally, it has not failed to provide me with enjoyment and I'll declare it a "catastrophic fail" when the servers are finally shut down. My hope is that they can begin to rise out of the ashes after pulling their head out of their <insert body part here> and see that there ARE people out there that want this game to succeed.

[Count Sacula]

I think it is too early to say failed as it is not even a year old and there is still a lot of time to get it back on track. I think it is too late to salvage this year though. Once Sept 25 comes it will wipe out a good portion of the people that still play. If they can get things turned around in the next 6 months then next year could look bright indeed. I still think they need serious changes in how things are done.

Edit: What is the most shocking of the story is that it is by a fan site.

[SoulBender]

Good article. I hope they can pull it out in the end.

[mlambros79]

I also agree that its too early to say "fail". I mean, it only really fails when the servers shut down right?
The fails the article mentions are all fair criticisms except maybe the assumptions for the current population. I agree that the biggest problem were the dead servers and late transfers, however, the one great thing that did was weed our out the trolls and MMO hoppers. For us who stuck in out during that period, we are now left with a loyal population which truly enjoys the game and which is concentrated on a few severs.
I am still optimistic for the future and I believe that the issues have hit bottom and the game can only get better from here.

[Count Sacula]

I also agree that its too early to say "fail". I mean, it only really fails when the servers shut down right?
The fails the article mentions are all fair criticisms except maybe the assumptions for the current population. I agree that the biggest problem were the dead servers and late transfers, however, the one great thing that did was weed our out the trolls and MMO hoppers. For us who stuck in out during that period, we are now left with a loyal population which truly enjoys the game and which is concentrated on a few severs.
I am still optimistic for the future and I believe that the issues have hit bottom and the game can only get better from here.

That works for a small indy produced game but not for one that spent 300 million. Your investors want a return on the money you borrowed and I am not sure if that has happened. They will have to boost revenue or EA will not continue to dump money down this rabbit hole. With MMOs now in the main stream they will now have to play by the big boy rules.

[Jetsu]

I'd like to start by addressing my pet peeve. Typically, when someone uses "fail" as a noun you know they're bias and typically emotional. I couldn't help but reading this article with the feeling that the author felt "slighted" and couldn't be objective about anything based on his/her emotional state.

With that said, I'd hate to fall into the same category based on my reaction to that word. Here's my thoughts on the points the article made.

1. Tech failure - This whole game feels like a lot of great ideas and well planned systems developed in the least effective manner. They tied their programmers hands enough by forcing an engine choice on them (probably a budget choice), but as I said in another thread on these boards, the real nightmare is that any change they make seems to break entirely unrelated systems.

The new developers (since they seem to have flushed out most/all of the old) will be fighting an uphill battle for months if not years to get this stuff cleaned up. I can't say it was all the old developer's fault though, because sometimes management is overbearing and developers aren't even given the opportunity to object to poor technology decisions.

2. Server Numbers - This one is being overly critical in hindsight. The number of servers they launched with BARELY kept people from waiting in long queues (and a few still waited quite a while). Based on their preorder numbers, number of preformed guilds, etc... they likely took a guess, and guessed well.

What they didn't guess well at all is how steep the drop-off for this game would be. First they tried to preserve their numbers with 1.2 and content plus offering people free time to try it out, then they added most of the "must have" features people were complaining weren't there, and finally they accepted the numbers were going to settle much lower than they originally thought and implemented a plan to consolidate the remaining population.

A company doesn't release an MMO and plan for it to lose so many subscriptions so fast. You could argue they should have focused on consolidating right away when subscriptions started dropping, but honestly I think a lot more people would be gone right now if they'd have pushed 1.2 and 1.3 further out to fit in the consolidation system sooner anyway. Rock and a hard place, and this was a symptom instead of a cause.

3. Communication problems - I certainly won't say this is wrong regarding certain topics. They've been fairly quick to announce when they are aware of problems and typically tell us a general outline of what to expect going forward months before they launch, but they guard actually release dates aggressively and put things like free-flight on a list but don't mention how prioritized any of it is.

I'd like to blame LA, but honestly the stuff they're concerned with (like introducing new races, characters, plots, etc...) is the one thing they've been sharing future plans about. It may be EA a bit. I don't know what their company policy is on PR, but my guess is there's some restriction there. I feel like most of it is just that they've been scrambling, getting pulled in 50 different directions and trying to please everyone and don't know what they're going to prioritize over other things until it's on their "top 5" list.

I'd like to thing that as things calm down (now that they're back to adding instead of "catching up") this will smooth over and planning will survive beyond "what are they doing next", but only time will tell. I still think at this point it's more a lack of knowing than a lack of saying. The carefully guarded footage problem in the article sounds like an EA or LA rule though. That just seems bizarre...

4. Electronic Arts - I don't agree that EA has completely given up on it, but it's pretty clear EA triggered financial shock on this project very early on. Some of the layoffs were probably "natural for a new MMO" but I doubt with all the work they've been rapidly pushing out to preserve the base they have they couldn't have done with a few more programmers.

I'm not sure if EA doesn't understand what type of investment MMO games are (being a genre that primarily cashes in on the social networking aspect of multiplayer games) or if they just expected more at every step of the way and closed their fist quick when money wasn't being put in their palm fast enough, but pouring a few more resources into this game early on would have meant faster delivery of a lot of the things people left because they wanted (and only slightly before those features released).

5. Fear of innovation - This point I don't agree with at all. Interactive story is something that was lacking, in almost every way, in this genre. Most series have lore themes on everything, but if you want to know anything about that lore you buy books. If you started asking yourself why you character (not you the player, because it's obviously for quest rewards) is doing most of what they're doing you wouldn't have an answer besides "well, he/she seems like a bad guy/gal". This is a HUGE genre innovation.

Solving the issue of soloing with the trinity has never been handled as well as it was in this game. The companion system allowed me to level as a healer without feeling like I was slowed at all really. I am now leveling a tank and loving it as well.

Crafting is an arguable point, but I massively prefer this to a system that has you driving around areas with your eyes glued to the mini-map waiting for dots to show themselves for hours on end just to make gear that has no value but to give you another crafting level.

It's a blast being able to focus on a specific item, breaking it down repeatedly, and get not only some materials back but also a pattern that people are actually willing to spend credits for on the GTN. Ultimately, it's a system everyone can get some benefit from but people who focus can really excel with.

They broke the mold on progression and made 4 man progression independent from ops (a new 50 can get into an operation and contribute without having to farm flashpoints for weeks first) and a team can (for the most part) even skip modes. If a team is highly coordinated you could mostly go from what hard-mode straight to the next without farming out story mode of the new content forever first. This gives players much more choice in how they play than most games with group heavy content.

There are a number of other systems that really make my experience in SWTOR rewarding beyond the typical gear grind, but those are some of the really big ones for me.

I agree that the outcome of all that shows that you need to have all the old stuff squared away before you start innovating, but that's why we don't see a lot of innovation in this market. Instead of enjoying what's there people focus on what isn't. For your average MMO player, begging for changes to the genre, the reality is that they'd still rather have a new version of their last game than a completely new game or they'd stop worrying about how games differ and start enjoying each game for what it is (and eventually play the one they enjoy most).

[Count Sacula]

Damn Jetsu aren't you supposed to be doing work?

[Jetsu]

Damn Jetsu aren't you supposed to be doing work?

I have to wait until tomorrow to get all the changes I made to my main project on Friday (don't have access to the files today) so I'm mostly just doing maintenance stuff until tomorrow. A lot of checking to make sure there aren't any red 'X's.

Basically:

[SoulBender]

You and me both... Been taking care of Cub Scouts stuff today and delaying our next big deployment.

[Sutek]

I think 'fail' and 'failure' are absolutely the wrong words to use. Disappointing and disappointment would be much better. Fans were disappointed because the game didn't have absolutely every little thing they wanted and thought should be included. Not to mention the incredibly high bar set by Bioware themselves with KoToR and KoToR II. Compound that with a gaming culture that is as finicky as they are flighty as consumers. Add in the fact that there was already a highly successful Star Wars MMO that had features 10 years ago not found in this game. You end up with an absolute sure fire recipe for disappointment in your consumer.

Investors are disappointed by lack of profits from EA. Honestly SWToR is by no means the only thing hurting EA's profits right now. Rehashing tired franchises, a crappy economy forcing gamers to be far more frugal than normal and poor customer support / relations are also very troubling for EA.

EA is disappointed by loss of subscribers and ever dwindling new sales numbers. Their poor judgement forced the developers to rush out a product that wasn't ready for prime time. When you charge customers for what they feel is just a beta test of your product, they tend to get angry and stop giving you their money. While I may not agree with that viewpoint, the rapid and extreme loss of subscribers tells me that quite a few people do feel that way. The real problem for EA is how to get those people back after you lost them and left them feeling bitter.

Jetsu, totally agree with you about the servers, the tech and the innovation.

I still think this game has promise and potential. Will it ever live up to that? I think the eventual answer to that question will determine if it was a failure or not.

[dodgerfn]

Very good article, thanks for posting.

[Lucious]

I've always thought this game had some great things. Despite detractors, there was plenty of innovation. However, some of that innovation (companions) made it unnecessary for players to really bond as a community. All the tools (most, anyhow) were there to allow/foster great player interaction (the social points system, for one), but most could just give it a go on their own. Lending to it an air of being a subscription solo game. Funny thing was, people screamed for community, but they weren't willing to become part of it.

I still think the game has tremendous possibility and great potential to give the gamers a fun and challenging game. The expectations of the "fanbois" weren't met. These are the same people who cannot be pleased with the stories coming out of the creator's (Lucas) head. It was like a horde of small children throwing a giant, synchronized tantrum. I created a rhythm that, literally, shook the game apart. That rage spread even to the everyday player. The one who just loved being a guy like Han Solo, ya know. From the very launch, I felt the vocal minority building up momentum demanding more and more (and BW delivered on a ton in just 5-6 months) but it was never enough.

Simply, there were too many people who really expected the game to have content and substance like WoW has, after 9 years, at launch. Why doesn't it have this? Where is that? Why can't i fly my ship anywhere? They were so pissy, they couldn't even enjoy the great things about the game. All I hear is "speed run - no spacebar, no invite" kind of crap. I LOVE the interactive story lines. The sheer enormity of the voice acting and every NPC responding to you, in character (although all the male imp vendors sound like that guy in the show "SMASH" who plays the director) is beyond words, in my book. You don't even get close to that in a single-player game.

When I read the article, I was thinking, took this long for some asshole to compile the major bitches of the "fanbois?" He is clearly one of the disenchanted so, although there were some facts, much was just more of the same bitching, to me.

[clamus68]

Innovation, in your terms was something totally new to the genre. The article was dead on. Storytelling, was not revolutionary. World of Warcraft told its stories in different ways but it imparted alot of the lore within the game itself. One of my guildies pointed out that there are 211 books out for the Star Wars expanded universe. He owns them all. The background for this game is more richly filled in by the books. The SWTOR approach is just what it is: an evolution. Read all the fluff within WoW and an interesting story evolves. Far fewer cut scenes, but one of the VERY best in any mmo was in WoW, the Fall of the Wraithgate. It was an amazing quest line and while it lasted was a great story. Again SWTOR was not innovative, as in revolutionary. It was a more refined approach to story telling.

The companion system of very cool but again an evolution of various pet systems that have existed in mmo's for years. Diablo II produced a similar companion system years ago, and by similar I mean companions to tag along with you like in SWTOR.

This is the only mmo that licensed its engine from a third party instead of developing it in house. This has created so many issues that its not funny, many of which we have gone over.

Bioware should have reacted faster to the population decline. That was the single largest contributing factor to people leaving. As to the initial launch, I agree its a blueprint for future games to follow. It was amazing, especially in light of D3, which came shortly after.

The game was indeed rushed at behest of EA. The release version should have been 1.3. That version of the game was very complete for an initial launch release. The game itself felt unpolished at release. Especially compared to the game now. Its a great product now.

As to your assertion of an agenda, well duh. In the first paragraph you are told its an editorial. I believe I mentioned that as well. Agenda or not, you can feel the disappointment the author had towards the game. Its very valid as many people have the same feeling.

As to failure our not. The game as it was is a complete failure, for what it might be in its altered state remains to be seen. It might turn out really well. We dont know. I remain curious as to what the future holds.

[Lucious]

don't you EVER get tired of bitching? Holy crap. You are a broken record. throw it away and move on. Go tear apart GW2 till that folds. Then whatever comes after that. I am sure you are are your happiest whilst tearing stuff apart. You see no good. only bad. Yep no innovation, no originality, no complexity. Just a piece of shit built on somebody else's engine? Who gives a **** about what goes on behind the curtain. If they wanted to use the Ultima Online engine, so what? Are you Dorothy trying to find the ****ing way home? I sure hope so because you are poison Clamus. Time to move on and poison someone else.