The latest Star Wars: The Old Republic State of the Game letter has been posted on the official site. Executive Producer Jeff Hickman speaks briefly about what the team has accomplished, hints at a new special PvP zone incoming and then moves on to the hot topics the community has been discussing since the last SotG letter, including news about same gender romances for those who have been waiting so long.

Topic #2: World PvP – What happened to making Ilum better? What is going on with Open World PvP? Answer: We have not forgotten Ilum! I think you will see (fairly soon) the answer to this question in the game itself - something big is coming to the Western Ice Shelf, but it’s quite a departure from what was there before. As for pure Open World PvP…well, that’s a more difficult proposition. We are dedicated to providing excellent PvP experiences to our players, but we intend to focus our energy on PvP Seasons and new Warzones. We will be experimenting with a different approach to Open World PvP, something that encourages organic PvP in contested areas in a new and interesting way, but do not look for massive new Open World PvP this year (outside of what I mentioned above). It is still on our design wall, but is taking a back seat to other forms of PvP.

Read the full letter on the Star Wars: The Old Republic site.

Ilum is hardly World PvP.

World PvP is anywhere and everywhere. Other than sanctions to protect lowbies, there are no rules.

Ilum is Structured PvP. It's ultimately just a larger Warzone...but without even teams. BioWare Calling this World PvP is insulting. They just slapped something in to say they have it.

"but do not look for massive new Open World PvP this year"

Same with no free flight space combat. Basically, don't expect to see anything new for SWTOR this year. It is just more of the same.

Once I accepted SWTOR for what it is - a fun online co-op game with many MMO-like features - I was able to have fun with it.

I do know that SWTOR is not a Massive Multiplayer Online game - there will never be massive battles on the planets or in space. I enjoy the PVP it does have but I know this game will never be the long-term game I was hoping for. It will be a game I return for a few months when I get the itch and leave when the itch has been scratched.

Originally posted by SuperDonk

Once I accepted SWTOR for what it is - a fun online co-op game with many MMO-like features - I was able to have fun with it.

 

I do know that SWTOR is not a Massive Multiplayer Online game - there will never be massive battles on the planets or in space. I enjoy the PVP it does have but I know this game will never be the long-term game I was hoping for. It will be a game I return for a few months when I get the itch and leave when the itch has been scratched.

I fully agree. Its casual play every now and then, not an immersing MMO.

Originally posted by mmoDAD

Ilum is hardly World PvP.

 

World PvP is anywhere and everywhere. Other than sanctions to protect lowbies, there are no rules.

 

Ilum is Structured PvP. It's ultimately just a larger Warzone...but without even teams. BioWare Calling this World PvP is insulting. They just slapped something in to say they have it.

 QFE. Which made it even more ridiculous when they scrapped it.

Originally posted by unclemo
How does Jeff Hickman still have a job?

I wonder the same thing.

Originally posted by JKwervo

Originally posted by unclemo
How does Jeff Hickman still have a job?

I wonder the same thing.

how to get ahead at EA

As a current sub player, I'm happy with what was said.

Also mentioned in Hickmans letter....SAME SEX MARRIAGE(to an npc) is being added to the game.

This is another reason  why I will  never play the game.

Originally posted by Shadanwolf

Also mentioned in Hickmans letter....SAME SEX MARRIAGE(to an npc) is being added to the game.

This is another reason  why I will  never play the game.

I doubt it's same sex marriage. I think it will be more like optional flirting dialogs etc. Easy to not choose if you really don't want to.

Originally posted by mmoDAD

Ilum is hardly World PvP.

 

World PvP is anywhere and everywhere. Other than sanctions to protect lowbies, there are no rules.

 

Ilum is Structured PvP. It's ultimately just a larger Warzone...but without even teams. BioWare Calling this World PvP is insulting. They just slapped something in to say they have it.

Exactly

Originally posted by Shadanwolf

Also mentioned in Hickmans letter....SAME SEX MARRIAGE(to an npc) is being added to the game.

This is another reason  why I will  never play the game.

Huh?  What's the big deal with that?

I guess if you guys launched a letter-writing campaign to a political activist group like GLAAD, you could strongarm EA with threats to get your ideas in game too.

Sadly, there is not such a thing for normal gamers.

Sounds like a bad situation you guys are in. You know they'll keep asking for more (already are) which sets everything else in game further back. They have EA by the gonades now.

Plus, this whole RL issues thing in-game is a turn off. I play games to "get away" from the real world for short periods of time. I don't want to be hit on by dudes in RL, why would I want it in a Star Wars game? It would be an immersion breaker for me and kinda makes me sick to my stomach thinking about it.

Anyways, I would have liked to see what new content they will add and re-sub to try it out, but looks like that's not the case. People on the forums already asked for refunds on their pre-orders. Why they pre-ordered, is a mystery to me since they never released any information and you don't get anything for pre-ordering.

This was their last chance to turn the game around and they blew it IMO.