BioWare community manager explains the reason for trickling SWTOR information

BioWare has responded to members of the SWTOR forums, trying to explain to the masses what the company's mantra of  "we will talk about it when it's ready" means to the long-anticipated MMO.

In a long winded and well-explained post by Star Wars: The Old Republic's Stephen Reid, the senior community manager explains that when developing a game, especially an MMO, it's not a very good idea to show too much until the team is positive certain mechanics or content will make it into the game.

"First of all, to re-iterate the general attitude towards development on The Old Republic. It's fairly simply summarized - we talk about things that will be in the game when they're ready to be talked about, and not before," said Reid. "That's an easy mantra to explain, but it's tough in practice, especially over a protracted development period - which any MMO goes through, TOR being no exception.

"There can be any number of reasons why we hold back on talking about something, but those reasons often fall in three broad categories. [Also], sometimes talking about System 'A' leads directly to talking about System 'B', and if System 'B' isn't ready, then guess what? We can't talk about System 'A' for now. The good news is, we can bundle both together for a big ol' bundle of info - bad news is, you have to wait a little longer.

"You'd be surprised about what connects to what, also, and how interconnected things can be. I can think of a specific example of something people have asked about, but we can't give an answer on, because the answer directly connects to a system that's not ready to be talked about yet."

Reid goes on to say information is released on a clear marketing timetable, and not before then. Basically, every tiny shred of information set to be revealed to the public is planned out to a tee.

So, there's that bit explained. Still no information on a date. However, Reid did drop a bit of good new concerning the addition of European testers to the game and not just those in the UK.

"Europe is on the roadmap, absolutely, and EU folk will be part of testing (and not just the UK)," he said. "We're building a new global Customer Service center in Galway, Ireland and that's just the beginning of our plans for the EU.

"I know it's been a long wait but we haven't forgotten about you guys. I can't forget, I have family there."

SWTOR is slated for release sometime this year.

Thanks, Massively.