Do you know why people get on here and complain?
Its because they love the game, but they see issues that in their eyes are really hurting the experience.
- Barracudastr on the SWTOR forums
The recent early access and live launch of Star Wars: The Old Republic has been an interesting study in a lot of ways. On one hand, you have many MMO veterans - as well as your more “accepting” gamers (like me) - complimenting their almost too smooth launch. There were some queuing and server population issues, sure, but for the most part, it was smooth sailing. Early game access really helped them distribute the load, and it’s been mostly good. Game performance hasn’t been too bad, either, just the same problems you’d expect at launch.
Right now, the forums are filled with raged induced posts from people having reactions spanning the spectrum from “Oh well” to “How do I get my money back?!”. Some folks even have signatures that say they’ve unsubscribed, with the date they did so, as some sort of badge of pride. Ad hominem attacks abound (“troll”, “fanboy”). All in all, it’s normal, healthy internet discussion.
It’s no big secret that most MMO players don’t use the forums for their particular game. It’s also no big secret that most folks don’t provide feedback unless they’re pissed. Combine those two with an IP that’s got one of the most rabid fanbases around AND with gamers (who are notoriously devoted to their hobby), suddenly you start to see where the SWTOR forums get their
swagger.
However, all of these players share a commonality. They share one consistent trait, something that binds them all together into a cohesive community: they’re all rallied around a thing, and they’re very passionate about that thing. In time, the anger will subside a bit, the game will get better (framerates are bad in some areas), and we can all move on.
