Patch V1.2 Moved to April

[Petromir]

THis april announcement is almost meaningless. It could be

 

1) be a vague target

 

2) a firm target

 

3) mean that they are slightly behind schedule

 

4) they are on schedule but there are a couple of thing major enough for a go/no-go decision which arent locked down yet, and are playing it safe.

 

5) mean that they are massively behind schedule but to cowardly to tell us.

 

 

I could go on.

 

Testing dependant suggests that one of the major new things has produced a bug in internal QA but they can't lock down the cause that easly so they want more data from testers.

[Tarka]

-nods-

 

I know what you're saying and I feel the same way, but it does work. People do feel used, but in the long run, folks do not leave due to that reason, so it works for them.

 

Thing is, it doesn't work well in MMO's. History has proven that. Even Blizzard has said that "backing up" content and additions into big patches and leaving it too long between them can have an adverse effect on subs.

 

If opinions voiced on a variety of different MMO forums are anything to go by, it seems that players would often rather see small and frequent content addition patches than less frequent large ones.

[Monkeywool]

I wasn't aware that we had a date to "move" from. You can't push something back when you never even announced a date in the first place, that's silly. Edited March 5, 2012 by Monkeywool

[Ebbikenezer]

I missed the few minutes that they ACTUALLY streamed, but what's to say that they WILL launch it in April, and not push it back again?

 

After this announcement I'm betting quite a few will be "re-evaluating their life".

 

The difference being they ANNOUNCED a date, and didn't say "We're aiming for..."

 

 

Let your wallet do the talking.

Edited March 5, 2012 by Moitteva
rude, uninviting

[Nakazia]

Was just on the guild summit channel. Its gonne be moved to April. Big Fail there.

 

Agree.

 

I'm sorry but there hasn't been a patch since 2/22 & it looks like maintenance next week too?

 

If this is what we should expect... I'm out. There's far too many issues that need to be fixed. If they begin to push back major patch dates on top of not patching weekly, that's a really really bad sign.

[PieEightOneFive]

Done. Not resubscribing.

 

Having 1.2 out before next billing date was the only saving grace this game had for me. Might pick up again in about ten months after finishing some decent console games that have been languishing on the backburner. If you guys in CS or who work with the game are listening: I do not like your product as is and do not want to keep paying for it. Shoddy customer service and tardy updates are the last straw.

 

 

Bye:)

[Sathid]

I dont see what the big issue is,from what i have read this is going to be a very large update with pages of updates,i was thinking when reading just the crafting updates that either they have planned this for sometime or they have an army of programmers.

[Febibi]

Was just on the guild summit channel. Its gonne be moved to April. Big Fail there.

 

no definate date given so... expect may...

 

 

im wondering why they dont just start the patching of planned 1.2 things..... i just asked them on guild summit and they responded taht the patch is being put together and is to complicated to split up the changes....

 

im off getting coffee rather then yelling back at such a stupid answer

 

 

lazy

[Vydor_HC]

Thing is, it doesn't work well in MMO's. History has proven that. Even Blizzard has said that "backing up" content and additions into big patches and leaving it too long between them can have an adverse effect on subs.

 

If opinions voiced on a variety of different MMO forums are anything to go by, it seems that players would often rather see small and frequent content addition patches than less frequent large ones.

 

Hmmm, most of the delivery date are centered around financial dates and not development goals. This is true in most industries that are not life/death critical. We saw it with the game being pushed out early due to holiday sales, and Bioware has shown nothing to convince me they have changed that outlook. The last big patch came our right at the 1 month renewal period.

 

And remember, I am not talking about the amount of content that is being delivered, I am talking about the date being synced with a big financial event. I think you are getting my point mixed in with others.

[Meldwyn]

It really boils down to trust.

 

If BW has built their trust with you over the past few months, you are willing to wait indefinitely for whatever they bring our way. If however, your trust in BW has eroded or exploded over the past several months, this kind of announcement is probably "a" or "the" final straw.

 

Do you trust BW? is the question...

[SnapWolf]

The thing about this patch is that there is no specific date. I don't understand why people are making such a fuss out of it.

 

If it's about clearing content, I suggest getting in a guild, or grouping with friends.

 

Or making alts.

 

If you can't be bothered making alts, then I can't help you.

[solidkjames]

The best thing they can do is release small updates over the next few weeks as things get completed. If they hold off and release one large patch I can see it causing more harm than good as these large updates usuallly do. It is disappointing to know that we have to wait 5 months for the first content update in this game, I was really hoping Bioware would be on top of this better than Blizzard and other companies.

 

Games like this need new content every 3 months to keep things fresh and burn out at a minimum. Hopefully after the games base systems are in place they can turn their attention to the content side of things and keep things rolling.

[Sathid]

It really boils down to trust.

 

If BW has built their trust with you over the past few months, you are willing to wait indefinitely for whatever they bring our way. If however, your trust in BW has eroded or exploded over the past several months, this kind of announcement is probably "a" or "the" final straw.

 

Do you trust BW? is the question...

 

Trust? i have little trust in anyone let alone any company that reports to shareholders,but thats beside the point because this game has not been out long,not even 4 months,il wait til the 6 month mark to decide anything when it comes to an mmo that i currently enjoy.

[Degarmo]

This isn't shocking to me. It's a financial decision, IMO, and I was expecting it. I never, ever, take a software company on their word about when they are going to come out with a patch/change/improvement as there are always complications and coming out on time seems to rarely, if ever, come in on time and on budget.

[Tarka]

Apparently they haven't since they released a fairly large update a few months ago...Every mmo has large game updates, its nothing new.

 

Those were Blizzards own words after Cataclysm. Of course, they might have been saying them just to keep interest from waining on their product. But if you check the dates on the large content patches of last year, you'll note that they were pretty close together.

 

Now, granted the time between launch and April may not appear to be very long either, but this is a crucial time for the game. Many are beginning to question whether they should continue subbing or cancel until content is released that warrants their money again. Pushing back dates can therefore have a negative impact on whether someone wants to continue subbing.

[WLpride]

worse fail is Guild 'features' are only window-dressing.

[Petromir]

The best thing they can do is release small updates over the next few weeks as things get completed. If they hold off and release one large patch I can see it causing more harm than good as these large updates usuallly do. It is disappointing to know that we have to wait 5 months for the first content update in this game, I was really hoping Bioware would be on top of this better than Blizzard and other companies.

 

Games like this need new content every 3 months to keep things fresh and burn out at a minimum. Hopefully after the games base systems are in place they can turn their attention to the content side of things and keep things rolling.

 

THeres already been 1 small content update, not on this scale but 1.1 did intro new content.

 

And loads of little patches have a tendency to be QA nightmare as they leave in-sufficient time to QA each patch in a vaguely live like state.

[spicycookie]

It's only a game. What kind of trust are we talking about?

 

Bioware is a reputable company and once again it's a game. Patience is required for new MMO's.

 

As the above poster ...way above who canceled... he may come back in 10 months and have a different experience than the one he has now.

 

It's all expectation. Most of us played WOW so the bar on our expectation is higher.

 

Just like my boss who thinks Windows 7 should load up in 5 seconds on all his computers because we put one SSD on one of his computers. Expectation raised.

[Kabaal]

It is a fail because....

 

Cannot que up to warzones with more then 4 people.

 

There are still guilds with more than 4 people playing? I kid, i kid.

 

A few weeks makes no difference to me, i'm still finding some fun with alts atm. Anyone who isn't enjoying the game anymore should have unsubbed already anyway. No point in paying for something you don't enjoy in the hopes a future patch will change things, better just resubbing when it comes around.

Edited March 5, 2012 by Kabaal

[Tarka]

The thing about this patch is that there is no specific date. I don't understand why people are making such a fuss out of it.

 

If it's about clearing content, I suggest getting in a guild, or grouping with friends.

 

Done, and done.

 

Or making alts.

 

If you can't be bothered making alts, then I can't help you.

 

Rolling alts is not seen by the MMO industry as being a viable primary "end game" solution. More like an subset.

[Tarka]

It's only a game. What kind of trust are we talking about?

 

Bioware is a reputable company and once again it's a game. Patience is required for new MMO's.

 

As the above poster ...way above who canceled... he may come back in 10 months and have a different experience than the one he has now.

 

It's all expectation. Most of us played WOW so the bar on our expectation is higher.

 

Just like my boss who thinks Windows 7 should load up in 5 seconds on all his computers because we put one SSD on one of his computers. Expectation raised.

 

If you think that this is "just a game" then you are missing the point of what an MMO should be. A service. One that people invest time and money into. I suggest you watch Raph Koster's presentation on running "

".

 

Sorry, but telling people to just "have patience" doesn't cut it when they are being asked to hand over a sub every month.

 

Plus, expecting players to just return is a little naive. One common piece of knowledge that is shared across MANY industries is this:

 

It is easier and cheaper to keep an existing customer, than to try to get one back.

Edited March 5, 2012 by Tarka

[texasfanboy]

Not really good "business sense" because it relies on people actually wanting to give money only to possibly find out that the new additions don't match expectations.

 

It's that sort of "business sense" that gives companies a bad rep.

 

Which number is greater:

1) The number of players who quit because the patch came out rushed, buggy, and largely unplayable because BioWare was pressured to release the patch before March 20 whether it was ready or not

 

Or

 

2) The number of players who quit because they don't want to spend another month's subsccription fee waiting on a patch

 

BioWare's already taken a lot of flak for releasing the games with as many bugs as it had. To rush the patch out would doom the game. This is one situation where BioWare really does need to take a page from the Blizzard playbook and hold off on releasing the patch until it's done, and done right. That means thorough testing. This isn't a minor patch, this is a patch with new instances, new systems, the works. They can't test all that in 14 days (fewer, since the patch isn't even on the PTS yet).

 

Saying that BioWare absolutely must release the patch by March 20 only puts them in a situation where they're guaranteed to fail.

[Tarka]

Which number is greater:

1) The number of players who quit because the patch came out rushed, buggy, and largely unplayable because BioWare was pressured to release the patch before March 20 whether it was ready or not

 

Or

 

2) The number of players who quit because they don't want to spend another month's subsccription fee waiting on a patch

 

BioWare's already taken a lot of flak for releasing the games with as many bugs as it had. To rush the patch out would doom the game. This is one situation where BioWare really does need to take a page from the Blizzard playbook and hold off on releasing the patch until it's done, and done right. That means thorough testing. This isn't a minor patch, this is a patch with new instances, new systems, the works. They can't test all that in 14 days (fewer, since the patch isn't even on the PTS yet).

 

Saying that BioWare absolutely must release the patch by March 20 only puts them in a situation where they're guaranteed to fail.

 

I'd say both are high because a sizeable portion of players have left previous MMO's for one or both reasons.

 

The options you give rely heavily on one big patch being released either too early, or pushed back. Which, in actuality, isn't the only option.

 

It is easier to deal with smaller "chunks" released over time, than releasing one almighty patch that can possibly create one big headache.

Edited March 5, 2012 by Tarka

[Meldwyn]

Let's face it...

 

If you are already headed out the door, 1.2 will be a disappointment and you will rail against it.

 

If you love SW and think the BW is doing a great job, you will love 1.2 (no matter when it comes out and what it contains) and will defend it to the end.

[Sageist]

It is a fail because....

 

Cannot que up to warzones with more then 4 people. it's bad for guildspirit since so many wanne team up. Do we now have to wait again 8 weeks while we waited for this (very simple) adjustment for 10 weeks? Thats a fail. I can give you more examples on things that are "simple" to fix and that we waited up for 10 weeks and now, at best, we must wait again 8 weeks. So the game is not a fail, i love the game, the fail that, yet again, the patch 1.2 is pushed away (and probbably will be pushed away again) while there are some things we really need in this game now... is the fail i mean.

 

I hope i explained it a bit better like this.

 

I like how simple everything is, tell you what go write a simple payroll input output program, that can handle how lets be nice 1000 people using the program at once, but on different machines, different internet speeds. Then to keep this simple lets add in one static graphic just one. This is so simple so I'll look back in 5 minutes because that is the time frame that I think it can be done in and if it is not done I am going to be so mad that all I can do is post on this forum about how much you fail at programming a simple program.

 

I am a programmer and when people say how simple something is that really have no clue as too how complex these things are it is an insult. I spend hours, days, and weeks going over code looking for errors, testing it retesting it, here you go write a simple java hello world program, then rewrite it without looking it up on Google, or Youtube, then get command prompt to actually run it for you. o yeah to be fair if you cant do it in under 5 secs then you fail.

Edited March 5, 2012 by Sageist