Only if you want to be gay right away. You can probably be gay for free if you wait longer. Maybe.
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Bioware fire-fighting reactions to SWtOR's 'gay ghetto' planet
- Thread starter nickcv
- Start date
Only if you want to be gay right away. You can probably be gay for free if you wait longer. Maybe.
I think it is safe to say that the TOR team don't understand what they are doing at all with this game.
It is a disaster.
paperboywriter
Member
like in real life!
Yeah, not even a trial period. People should be allowed to experiment around before deciding if they are gays.
TimeEffect
Member
Is the planet's dominant resource steel?
Moff
Member
do you think everyone will be gay on that planet? there will be a few npcs with gay romance options and thats it, every one else will be straight as far as we know, how is that a segregation?
they promised to add SGR and they are doing it finally with the next content update. these reactions are completely blown out or proportions and reported in a false context, its absolutely ridicoulus.
paperboywriter
Member
I bet the planet is just plain and there is nothing to do, so all gay players have to change their sexual orientation in order to have fun and play on those hetero planets.
Conciliator
Banned
This should not be a thing in 2013. There's no reason you can't organically integrate what we're now apparently calling 'SGR' into the whole world. I mean, when did The Sims come out? We're past this.
"Star Wars is a family based story with nothing to do with SGR, one gamer wrote on the forums. Please, please, please Bioware, Lucasarts, and EA do not allow SGR in Star Wars The Old Republic. It will ruin the game and make a lot of people leave it."
This guys sounds like a dick.
Not exactly sure how same sex releationships would ruin a game. I'm a red blooded straight male, but yet most of my characters in MMO are female. Guess his draconian morals would denounce that too.
This guys sounds like a dick.
Not exactly sure how same sex releationships would ruin a game. I'm a red blooded straight male, but yet most of my characters in MMO are female. Guess his draconian morals would denounce that too.
jediyoshi
Member
Because people are making it sound as if they literally decided to exclusively make this planet be thee one to exclusively support gay romances. It's all in the wording to get a rise out of people. If they could flip a switch and get the resources to retrofit the original NPCs to revoice their lines for the extra support, they'd obviously have done it because it's something they've been saying they'd support forever. It's a matter of practicality, not some bizarre intent to alienate the exact fucking people they've already been catering to throughout their entire back catalog.
Slightly Live
Dirty tag dodger
So you have to pay to be gay?
And you can only be gay on the gay planet?
What the fuck, Bioware? How about you treat your fucking players with a little respect when it comes to sexualities? I don't get how they've handled it well in the past and yet seemingly fucked up big time here and now.
I've been meaning to play this game for a while now but I think I'll hold off a little longer.
And you can only be gay on the gay planet?
What the fuck, Bioware? How about you treat your fucking players with a little respect when it comes to sexualities? I don't get how they've handled it well in the past and yet seemingly fucked up big time here and now.
I've been meaning to play this game for a while now but I think I'll hold off a little longer.
I believe that one is called Toydaria.
DangerStepp
Member
I agree with this and also to a degree with Star Wars being a family friendly thing.
The need for any kind of sexual interactivity of any type needs to be left to games associated with 'mature' themes or Second Life.
BattleMonkey
Member
Would be more offensive if they said no and did nothing about it. They have to start somewhere and this is a content pack that adds one new planet to the game. Going back and adding the option to the rest of the game would be quite difficult since it would require reworking much of the cutscenes, adding bunch of new dialogue options along with recording a bunch of new dialogue for the game. Also would require them having to track down all the original voice actors for every single instance of them wanting to add it for established npcs.
Once again, this is just the start and not going to be the only instance of them putting in sgr options for the community.
It probably would have been better if they never did anything to be honest.
There was no way they could put this everywhere AND for free in a single expansion pack considering the amount of efforts that would have taken to do. Did people really expect this would be possible?
There was no way they could put this everywhere AND for free in a single expansion pack considering the amount of efforts that would have taken to do. Did people really expect this would be possible?
jediyoshi
Member
Genuine question, do you understand how romances work or what they actually are in SWTOR?
Money would be a great reason. As has been stated multiple times already, all the content in TOR is fully voiced. It would be prohibitively expensive to retrofit all the existing content to account for SGR. So they've begun adding it with new content. The new content includes a new planet, so they put their first SGRs on that planet.
It's not even like this planet exists solely for SGRs. It just happens to also have the first SGRs.
So I guess in the galaxy of SW, all species unanimously were conservatives who believed in sin of homosexuality because they obviously prayed to our gods and killed off all existing gay individuals from all races and started their eugenics program to root out gays at birth.
And now, aren't they merciful that players have now the option to pursue same gender relation after paying and then being limited to one planet?
And now, aren't they merciful that players have now the option to pursue same gender relation after paying and then being limited to one planet?
So the new content is on the new world, and people are mad at that? I get why you'd be mad if this is content they had already promised would be free (which seems to be the claim of a couple people here), but the whole segregation aspect of it just seems like people are eager to forget how content additions usually work in favor of being able to get offended.
Also the romances in that game are unintentionally hilarious anyway.
Also Pay2Gay.
Also the romances in that game are unintentionally hilarious anyway.
Also Pay2Gay.
BloodMoney
Banned
AWWW YEAAAAH! uproar over virtual sex. Why fuck someone for real (gay or straight) when you can do it in a video game! Now these are issues that matter... *sarcasm
Conciliator
Banned
I haven't played TOR, but I guess I'm surprised it didn't exist at all in the context of Bioware's previous work. Why? Also I don't know about the expansion, but is it just the one planet? If it is, you're surely right, but if we're talking about 3, 4, 5 planets and one is specifically designed as a gay haven, the question remains.
They are adding 1 planet. In TOR, one planet is a lot of content (generally you can gain between 5 and 10 levels per planet).
So they're not adding one Gay Ghetto planet and one REAL planet with missions and stuff. It's just the one planet with story missions and SGRs all working together.
I also suspect, based on how Bioware has usually included same-sex romances, that the lack of SGRs in the base game came from LucasArts. I could be totally wrong on this, though.
Kai Dracon
Writing a dinosaur space opera symphony
I'm not sure I see the problem.
Isn't a truly fabulous planet a premium product?
Isn't a truly fabulous planet a premium product?
BattleMonkey
Member
It's only one new planet, this expansion is really just a small content pack and not a full fledged expansion even as it's just basically that new planet so far. Folks are making ridiculous claims of them making a gay planet when it's going to be nothing but a few dialogues with certain characters, as bioware has stated that this is just the start of them adding sgr options into the game. They have already said that full on companion characters that will go with you everywhere will be available in future that will have no gender restriction on their romances.
It should have been in the game from the start, why would bioware of all people not have such an option is odd, perhaps it was lucasarts meddling, who knows. This seems to be the only option, as anything else really isn't feasible to fix this. They are damned either way unless they do a massive overhaul, and apparently for free, which I'm sure at this point EA would be against.
I'm quoting this again because it makes my brain hurt that people don't understand what is going on with the expansion/new planet, or simply how TOR works.
Bioware has been pretty consistent in their offering of same-sex romances in the last couple of years so I don't understand how people think this is them trying to snub the LGBT community or create anything that isn't at least done with the best intentions.
That said:
BioWare has atrocious writing when it comes to these characters. If there's any complaint I can see it's how awful they are written. But, given the general quality of their writing, I don't think this is anything but them just being bad writers writing about things they don't know.
(Taking three games to get a gay romance in Mass Effect was pretty bad, however.)
That said:
BioWare has atrocious writing when it comes to these characters. If there's any complaint I can see it's how awful they are written. But, given the general quality of their writing, I don't think this is anything but them just being bad writers writing about things they don't know.
(Taking three games to get a gay romance in Mass Effect was pretty bad, however.)
Trying to make some faux outage as if Bioware intended to segregate gays is ridiculous. There are clear reasons why it's only on one planet. I wonder if they could even go back and do it through the rest of the game, and even if they could the time it would take would be immense.
There are far bigger things to shit on Bioware, including how stereotypical their gay characters are, for.
There are far bigger things to shit on Bioware, including how stereotypical their gay characters are, for.
Conciliator
Banned
Fair enough, sounds like they're trying to do the right thing and fix it.
BloodMoney
Banned
Therein lays the problem, at least from a financial/business standpoint. In an effort to bring sexual equality to games to accommodate a relatively small portion of the population (Gallup Polls indicate 3.4% of the American population is homosexual – obviously this number is debatable) you inevitably upset a portion of the remainder of the population.
Example: let’s round up significantly and say that 10% of the population is homosexual or transgender, that leaves 90% heterosexual. It makes more sense to build a game that sells to 90% than 10%. However, without doubt, a large portion of the 90% is likely not offended by the 10% and is tolerant of differing lifestyles. But even if 25% of the 90% take offence to the 10%, you’ve lost a larger portion of the overall game sales than if you’d just not accommodated the 10% in the first place. It’s a fucked up situation which ultimately leads (as evident in this thread) to bickering on boths sides.
What's the solution...? There is none. People are going to bitch on boths sides regardless.
funkystudent
Member
This is what happens when some EA executive sees something like gay relationships as a box that can be ticked rather then something they should do with a bit more care.
TOR just cant catch a break.
TOR just cant catch a break.
Yes, and people expecting a massive overhaul for free are just waaaay over their head. They're not Blizzard. They don't have 10 millions of players. They don't have millions of people who pay 15$ a month + who knows what kind of godly amount of money in server transfers, sex change, race change, faction change or mounts and pets from the Blizzard Store. Bioware/EA can't afford to do a free massive overhaul like Blizzard did with the 2 original continents. People have to forget about that.
People expecting everything, even major stuff, to be free should change their expectations to something more realistic.
To not treat it like a marketing gimmick?
I dislike EA and BioWare as much as the next guy but their approach to this topic is pretty upstanding. And, really, I don't think it plays that significant an effect on sales. Perhaps if the main character was gay then we could see a loss of sales but every game that has same sex content always makes it optional.
Again, for those who missed it, and will hopefully read this.
It's not "pay 2 gay" (well it is kinda, but whatever). Many players have been clamoring for SGR in the game since release. Due to the way companions are heavily integrated into the story line and the way EVERY SINGLE LINE OF DIALOGUE is fully voice acted, there's no feasible way to go back and make some of the companions have a SGR options.
This is because they'd have to (A) write new lines of dialogue then (B) get the original voice actors to record the new lines of dialogue then (C) redesign the dialogue trees and animation to allow these new options over 50 levels of MMO gameplay all while deciding who is going to go (D) from complete straight characters to bi or gay characters while considering that (E) some people will have already romanced the newly gay/bi characters and figuring out how that integrates into your PCs story line.
So, Bioware decided to add a same gender romance option to new characters you will meet on the new digital expansion. Yes, it's behind a paywall because the new content is an expansion, not part of the free to play. It has nothing to do with being ashamed of the content and keeping it from free players. You do not have to rub your alien penis on their alien penis. In addition, future releases in TOR will have more SGR options, which you won't have to pursue. This is simply done this way to add something to the game they've been promising to include since beta.
It's in no way segregation. Your character hasn't ran into the option to ever be gay before. No body of the same gender has ever came on to your character before. All that's happening is your character is running into somebody that happens to be gay and flirty with you, should you pursue it. This happens to be part of a planet with five more levels of gameplay for end game players that buy the expansion pack (which, you don't have to actually be subscribed in order to buy it).
Granted, it's piss poor from due to "is my guy/gal that fucking sexy this person is just coming onto them" standpoint, but the ENTIRE game is that way, this includes the straight relationships.
This is not an issue.
It's not "pay 2 gay" (well it is kinda, but whatever). Many players have been clamoring for SGR in the game since release. Due to the way companions are heavily integrated into the story line and the way EVERY SINGLE LINE OF DIALOGUE is fully voice acted, there's no feasible way to go back and make some of the companions have a SGR options.
This is because they'd have to (A) write new lines of dialogue then (B) get the original voice actors to record the new lines of dialogue then (C) redesign the dialogue trees and animation to allow these new options over 50 levels of MMO gameplay all while deciding who is going to go (D) from complete straight characters to bi or gay characters while considering that (E) some people will have already romanced the newly gay/bi characters and figuring out how that integrates into your PCs story line.
So, Bioware decided to add a same gender romance option to new characters you will meet on the new digital expansion. Yes, it's behind a paywall because the new content is an expansion, not part of the free to play. It has nothing to do with being ashamed of the content and keeping it from free players. You do not have to rub your alien penis on their alien penis. In addition, future releases in TOR will have more SGR options, which you won't have to pursue. This is simply done this way to add something to the game they've been promising to include since beta.
It's in no way segregation. Your character hasn't ran into the option to ever be gay before. No body of the same gender has ever came on to your character before. All that's happening is your character is running into somebody that happens to be gay and flirty with you, should you pursue it. This happens to be part of a planet with five more levels of gameplay for end game players that buy the expansion pack (which, you don't have to actually be subscribed in order to buy it).
Granted, it's piss poor from due to "is my guy/gal that fucking sexy this person is just coming onto them" standpoint, but the ENTIRE game is that way, this includes the straight relationships.
This is not an issue.
Omegasquash
Member
Lacking class, but if they don't want to spend the money, I guess whatever. I honestly wasn't under the impression that SWTOR was still relevant.
I'm not aware of any other popular MMOs (at least in the Western market) that feature romance options.
DCUO doesn't have romance options.
Bad comparison is bad.
jediyoshi
Member
What exactly would that entail? Literally not mentioning it as a bullet point? This is a topic that gets huge amounts of discussion on their forum, of course they're going to directly address it at some capacity.
BloodMoney
Banned
Lets just all pay twice as much for our games and have the choice between the gay edition, the straight edition, and the tolerant edition of every game. That way someone can buy Uncharted 4 where Drake bangs Sully, and another person can buy the version where Drake bangs Elena, and yet another person can buy the ultimate edition where everyone bangs everyone... Add to that the white edition, the black edition, the asian edition, the eastern european edition, the south american edition, the narwhal edition, and the unicorn edition... and all bases should be covered and no-one will have reason to complain.
Can we all agree on that as being the best solution?
Can we all agree on that as being the best solution?