Keaneoo Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 I have read on these forums in many threads that the percentage of the games population that visit and actually post is actually too small to warrant the level of interaction that those that post demand. The argument being that recourses are better spent elsewhere, where a greater percentage of the SWTOR subscriber base can benefit. This is not a view that is deemed unique, using Blizzard as an example, ex employees have stated this is the actual stance taken with regards to their forums. I have to say I totally disagree with this opinion and would go as far as to say that BW along with many companies that release MMOs underestimate the impact the forum community have on their games. I've played MMOs for about 6 years now, and from reading each games forums over the years, a trend I have noticed is that the representation here, of the more proactive players in-game, is much, much higher than how many pro active players actually exist in any one games subscriber base. By proactive, I am referring to the players such as the following: - Guild gms - Guild officers - Regular PUG organisers - Chat channel 'characters' - Top end players Now these proactive players, are so important to an MMO it is unbelievable. They are the people that put in the time and hard work that actually allows for guilds, raids and events to actually take place. Without them, no matter how much you throw into the next content patch, your whole player base will not get as much enjoyment from the game as they would with them. Further more, even though the forum community is so small, they are indeed the people that communicate to the subscriber base the thoughts and opinions which become wide spread rumours and ill feeling im sure we all know exists in game... and im not just referring to SWTOR here. The point is, the forum community influences the majority, if not all of the subscriber base to a varying degree. So by actually investing resources into communicating with the forum users, rather than maintaining a level of communication which can only be described as minimal, BW you have the ability to voice your thoughts/feelings to the masses. Through relative silence, the only message being spread is one of uncertainty and discontent. Heck, by actually working closer with the forum users you would probably make the game itself better. For the record, I'm not naive enough to think these forums are made of gold... yes you have a lot of trolls, but in all fairness, it doesn't take long to filter them out as you read. I just feel if I had the ability to communicate my product's direction and development to my customer base, by at the very simplest of levels, asking members from each of my departments to spend a little time interacting with those wanting to talk to me, I know what I would do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derfmiolleh Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 (edited) Being open to all account holders the forums may represent a variety of the customers. I think that many of the "pro active" players have guild forums and other places that they spend time discusing things. Most constructive talk takes place in vent or Mumble imo. Content players usually spend more time playing than fighting on forums and chat as they play. I think a big slice of most forum regulars are split between some at work that are unable to log in to play and others who are unhappy with the game and don't play much. This could be represented by the two apperant forum factions <the Biodrones> and <the haters>. I think the Biodrones are the more accurate posts and wan't the game they enjoy to thrive. The haters will fade away over time as accounts laps. Edited March 2, 2012 by Derfmiolleh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krazed Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 guilds, rp sites, mmorpg.com, fan sites. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crunchyblack Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 Game forums are only used to complain about user error related issues being the developers fault, short sighted complaints on classes based solely on limited pvp experience, and general trolling. as for 3rd part sights. mmorpg.com is a good sight if you can wade through all the cruddy browser games, dead games, and non rpgs. also the community hates just about every mmorpg that is out and only serves to over hype soon to be realsed games, which they hate right after launch. oh and its hit or miss based on the game, might post a thread looking for a guild and get a response in 5min or 5 months. usually the thread will get hijacked into a for/against game fight. youll get banned for telling everyone to **** about what they think about the game and get back on topic, since the kid moderator will find out you made a forum account 5 years ago that you forgot about and perma ban you Best way to find the community is in game. Better hurry before cross server instancing takes a chunk out of it. This could be your last chance to meet like minded players, equally skilled players by actually playing with them, before it gets diluted with random people from other servers youll never see again. Hopefully they wait a long time before adding pve cross servers. Anyway, most people stay away from forums for a reason. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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