stendarrs Posted May 22, 2012 Share Posted May 22, 2012 I think this would be really easy to implement. Many forums/websites have a poll where you can vote your opinion on various topics. I would like to see to see a poll on here so that people can easily express their opinion regarding what they feel is the most important aspect of the game for the developers to focus on. If the poll is created with honest topics then I think this would be a good metric to use for how to keep the customers happy. Let's say that there's a poll where the results show that 70% of the voters feel that server population is the #1 concern for the customers. This would provide the developers with quick/easy feedback without having to sift through hundreds of angry posts. You would have to be a subscriber to vote and each subscriber gets 1 vote. I honestly think that you will find the vast majority of people playing the game right now want a legitimate solution to low server populations rather than more legacy stuff that we won't use. Please give us the power to vote, we pay our game fees so I feel that our voices should be heard or the game will disappear before anyone gets a chance to use the "great new upcoming features". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MMornard Posted May 22, 2012 Share Posted May 22, 2012 Worst idea ever. What you have described is called "initiative and referendum." Go look at the State of California to see how well this works. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VanorDM Posted May 22, 2012 Share Posted May 22, 2012 Let's say that there's a poll where the results show that 70% of the voters feel that server population is the #1 concern for the customers. They already have a good feel for how important most issues are to people, a simple pol won't tell them anything new. It also won't change the rate they can develop things at, or change the fact that some projects will be finished before others because they're easier to do. What will happen is people will look at the polls and expect the top issues to be dealt with first, and when those issues aren't, there will be even more flaming and whining about it. Just because 70% of the player base want transfers doesn't mean that 70% of the dev staff can be tasked with working on them. It also doesn't change how much work is involved in making them, or how quickly they're going to get here. I honestly think that you will find the vast majority of people playing the game right now want a legitimate solution to low server populations rather than more legacy stuff that we won't use. And here is a prime example of what I'm talking about. Working on legacy stuff most likely will have no impact on how quickly server transfers happen, because there are teams working on both issues right now. Adding more people to one team or the other won't increase the speed in which the project is finished, in fact it will most likely slow it down. So why in the world should Bioware give a vote to people who know nothing about what they are working on, how many resources they have, and how software development actually works? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stendarrs Posted May 22, 2012 Author Share Posted May 22, 2012 Adding more people to one team or the other won't increase the speed in which the project is finished, in fact it will most likely slow it down. I don't really agree with this at all, and my friends who work in the software industry definitely wouldn't agree. More resources = get done faster. That's pretty much universal. You may begin to see diminshing efficiency, but I doubt the rate at which efficiency diminishes would be as high as the rate at which this game is losing subs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VanorDM Posted May 22, 2012 Share Posted May 22, 2012 More resources = get done faster. That's not true at all, especially when working on software development. For most projects there are X number of people needed to produce results in the quickest amount of time. Too few and it takes longer, too many and it takes longer. The value of X is going to change greatly depending on what you're doing. But no matter what it is, from software development to digging a hole in the ground, you can only have so many people working on something before they start to get in the way of the other people and slow the whole thing down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stendarrs Posted May 22, 2012 Author Share Posted May 22, 2012 That's not true at all, especially when working on software development. For most projects there are X number of people needed to produce results in the quickest amount of time. Too few and it takes longer, too many and it takes longer. The value of X is going to change greatly depending on what you're doing. But no matter what it is, from software development to digging a hole in the ground, you can only have so many people working on something before they start to get in the way of the other people and slow the whole thing down. Like I said, you reach a point of diminishing returns. But, as with any multi-faceted project there have to be priorities. If you feel like all of your concerns regarding the game are being addressed in a timely fashion and there's nothing that could be done (including adding resources) to help speed up the rollout of needed features, then I wish I could find the stand that sold the Kool Aid. I really do. The population is dying. Servers are dying. The game is floundering...but hey, check out these new legacy features. The customers are not getting what they want. In my experience, when that happens the customers just go away. I don't want that to happen, I merely suggested a quick and easy way for people to express their feelings. You clearly seem to have intimate knowledge regarding the priorities and resources being utilized by the development team. Could you just give me a few nibbles of information about when the population is going to be balanced and how it's going to be done? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MMornard Posted May 23, 2012 Share Posted May 23, 2012 I don't really agree with this at all, and my friends who work in the software industry definitely wouldn't agree. More resources = get done faster. That's pretty much universal. Good grief. You are so wrong that the light from correct will not reach you for eight hundred quadrillion years. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mythical_Man-Month Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woetoo Posted May 23, 2012 Share Posted May 23, 2012 (edited) Dear gods, NOOOOooooo!!!! Most end users are sheep, and stupid, unimaginative sheep at that. Most players haven't the imagination to invent, to iterate, to add a true spark of genius that results in truly memorable games. Sure, some very rare players do. But in a poll, they'd be drowned out by the sheep. The only way a poll would be useful to a game would be if the top 5 answers were hidden from view. I want a game developer who's passionate about an idea. Who's willing to look forward when all the bean counters and sheep are looking backwards. Who stick to their guns, knowing that eventually the gamers will "get it". Who aren't willing to accept a camel when what was needed was a horse. In short, to be the people gamers need them to be. The the case of SW:TOR, I want more power in the hands of those people who delivered the innovation seen in the level 1-49 content and less power in the hands of the people who delivered the same old, same old level 50 content as every MMO already has. Gamers ask for the best ideas from other games that have been around for the last 5 or so year. Games developers need to be the people who think up the ideas that lessor developers will be copying 5 years from now. Listen to your customers, then ignore them completely and do what's needed. This line intentionally left blank Edited May 23, 2012 by Woetoo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kellorion Posted May 23, 2012 Share Posted May 23, 2012 I don't really agree with this at all, and my friends who work in the software industry definitely wouldn't agree. More resources = get done faster. That's pretty much universal. You may begin to see diminshing efficiency, but I doubt the rate at which efficiency diminishes would be as high as the rate at which this game is losing subs. Faster doesnt mean better or even done. To many hands in the pot ruins the soup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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