Darth Hater

This is OpsCom, where we bring you a weekly dose of Operations-related content from the world of Star Wars: The Old Republic. This column will serve as an inside scoop on new content, developer feedback and community gossip. Stay tuned in the coming weeks, and we will keep you up to date on all the news you need to stay on the cutting edge.

In this week’s OpsCom, we’ll take a look at a new visual optimization that will perhaps improve the way the galaxy looks to you. Also, we’ll take a look at the recent re-naming controversy that has plagued server consolidations, as well as how players have reacted to this change. Finally, as we approach the last Tuesday of the month, will BioWare deliver on the much anticipated 1.4 content patch? Here’s hoping. For all that, your weekly spotlights, and more, hit the jump!

Weekly News Roundup

We’ve recently seen servers consolidated once more, and with it a rather frustrating incident for many players; some players on the destination server were made to change their name to make way for incoming players. Obviously there are a number of very vocal opinions on this subject. Were you one of the affected? Head on over to this thread and voice your opinion.

Speaking of voicing your concerns, a very insightful post was made some time ago, and continues to be monitored by BioWare to this day. If you’ve ever had a gripe or complaint about something in the game, no matter how miniscule or incidental, you should head over here and speak up!

If you’re an end-game type like myself, you want to make sure that you get the most mileage out of new content that you can. Many players have recently voiced concerns over the content being too easy to down, or conquered too shortly. Are the developers to blame for this, or is it over-zealous players? Head over to this thread and decide.

This one isn’t particularly related to Operations in a direct fashion, but it will change the way that you see Operations content in the future. A recent optimization to the way that shadows are displayed in the game has been made, and they look great. Head over to the Developer Update and take a look.

Community Spotlight

This week we’ll be taking a look at the Community Round-Up, courtesy of BioWare over on the official site. This really is a great way to find out about fun community events in your neck of the galaxy, as well as a way to perhaps create your own events. Head over to Community News and take a look. Next week, assuming that 1.4 has launched and we’re knee-deep in progression, our spotlight will see a return to form, featuring more of your guilds and fan-submitted entries.

Are you interested in having your guild featured here? Send us an email at darth@darthhater.com and give us a general run down. Submissions should include Guild Name, Faction, Server and how far your guild has progressed. Bonus points for a YouTube video of any boss kills that we can feature in this section.

Op-Ed: Proximity

That familiar feeling is once again in the air; brand new content is right around the corner, perhaps even tomorrow(!), and many players will once again dust off their action bars and put themselves to the test. This is always an exciting time in the world of an MMO, and many players are very excited to get into the new Operation and kick some multi-dimensional entity butt.

Since it has been a while when we last had content delivered to us, many players have since taken a break from the Operations scene to play other games, or just to even take a break, having geared themselves out, and maybe an alt to boot. But, as is always the case, many are returning in droves to once again seize glory, fortune, and some nice gear while they’re at it.

However, there always will be those players, or groups of players, that manage to down the content immediately, and immediately become bored with the game. I’ve seen posts recently that cling to both arguments, saying that there needs to be more content, as well as saying that players are kiling it for themselves by not meting out the content over a pre-apportioned amount of time. Personally I say let the chips fall where they may; ask anyone who actively takes part in the Operations scene and they’ll tell you that it takes much longer than one week to gear out a character optimally. So, the content will be enough for me, at least, for the time being. Hopefully we’ll see some shiny new stuff on the horizon as year’s end approaches.

Having said that, it’s time for this week’s poll. I’m very interested to see what you all have to say about this, so cast your votes. And, as always, feel free to send us your thoughts and comments, care of darth@darthhater.com . Also, as 1.4 does approach, if you have any technically gifted folks that are willing to record and upload games footage, make us aware of it, and we’ll do a piece highlighting player-submitted videos.

Poll