Citywok Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 It seems like the answer to most questions people ask about the game and the direction it's going in from the devs is "we can't discuss our future plans" even if it's something that would do no harm in telling us. It just gives off this elitist attitude almost like they are better than other game developers and they don't need to be open with us because were just going to play anyway. If they started actually communicating with the player base maybe you wouldn't have so many pissed off for lack of information. It's ridiculous they couldn't even tell us how many servers would be open for transfer the first day because it would have made a lot of people happy. Hell, they probably have the whole list but can't even release the names of todays servers. Anyone agree? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cossieuk Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 Have a look at LOTRO, they have a new expansion coming in September and wont say what is coming with it but are asking people to buy it now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T-Assassin Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 (edited) kinda... SWG was more lies and unfulfilled promises... but, they invented the word "Soon". BW's poor communications is the #1 reason i am contemplating cancelling. (seriously...#1...i love the game!! the poor decisions and communication just drives me nuts) *EDIT* i'm an adult. i can handle the truth. i would prefer BW tell me my server is in phase 2...which could be months away!! at least i know, and wouldn't have to be disappointed daily. Edited June 13, 2012 by T-Assassin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Obiwansghost Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 Yup, the SWG dev team said Soon™ way more than these devs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saetet Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 Yes a few, warhammer was one. Lets see really each and every time bioware has tried to do anything to communicate people tear them down, yes I agree a lot more communication could be had but with this community? Id be like them, hiding in the closet passing tiny notes under the door too. If they give dates and dont deliver with good reason people freak out, if they dont, people freak out. I have never come across a more self entitled bunch of people in my life. ( Save a few exceptions ) Do not get me wrong, I am just as frustrated as the rest, but I choose to wait and see instead of raging for the most part here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xiahoufig Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 Yup, the SWG dev team said Soon™ way more than these devs. I dunno, the word Soon is a running joke over at Blizzard as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Citywok Posted June 13, 2012 Author Share Posted June 13, 2012 Yup, the SWG dev team said Soon™ way more than these devs. lol Boy do I remember those days. I didn't really care about patches in SWG though because there were things to do 24/7 anyway and my server pop was fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmcooke Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 Yes. WoW, LotRO, EQ, and several lesser know MMOs to name a few. Secrecy, vague answers, and "Soon" are pretty much par for the course in this industry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth_Philar Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 I prefer the amatuerism of BW's first MMO attempt over the outright false statements and blatant lies of Blizzard's "experienced" team any day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smuglebunny Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 Runescape, the most crap game that ever was. If ever there were devs that did the exact opposite of what the players wanted AT ALL TIMES it was that game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Celebrus Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 Secrecy isn't uncommon in the world of MMO development. Failure is a bit more uncommon. I'd be more willing to forgive if I'd seen more than a few successes by the dev team in the first 6 months after release. It has literally been one long string of failure leading us up to this point of ultimate ****uppery. About the best thing I can say for swtor up until this point is: It's been quick! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keymod Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 Runescape, the most crap game that ever was. If ever there were devs that did the exact opposite of what the players wanted AT ALL TIMES it was that game. Lol true but its still lasting to this day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tahyri Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 It seems like the answer to most questions people ask about the game and the direction it's going in from the devs is "we can't discuss our future plans" even if it's something that would do no harm in telling us. It just gives off this elitist attitude almost like they are better than other game developers and they don't need to be open with us because were just going to play anyway. If they started actually communicating with the player base maybe you wouldn't have so many pissed off for lack of information. It's ridiculous they couldn't even tell us how many servers would be open for transfer the first day because it would have made a lot of people happy. Hell, they probably have the whole list but can't even release the names of todays servers. Anyone agree? Pretty much every mmo, yep. If they gave any specifics before they were a sure thing and set in stone, then everyone would be pissed off when something unforeseen happens and that feature can't be put in at the stated time. At least this way, we know that things are in the works, and when they're finalized and ready to be deployed we'll learn the specifics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mogic Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 (edited) It seems like the answer to most questions people ask about the game and the direction it's going in from the devs is "we can't discuss our future plans" even if it's something that would do no harm in telling us. It just gives off this elitist attitude almost like they are better than other game developers and they don't need to be open with us because were just going to play anyway. If they started actually communicating with the player base maybe you wouldn't have so many pissed off for lack of information. It's ridiculous they couldn't even tell us how many servers would be open for transfer the first day because it would have made a lot of people happy. Hell, they probably have the whole list but can't even release the names of todays servers. Anyone agree? Specifics? Sources? Most of the interviews I have read the devs have stated the path but won't give specific details because its not set in stone. A lot of companies do this. Why? Because in the past companies that have outlined, given specifics, dates, promises, etc., have had it totally backfire and end up with a bigger PR mess than if they had just kept their mouth shut (AoC anyone?, WAR, another example) I think the problem is people read to much into what they say, its not just BW, the "game that shall not be named" has the same problem these days. People read to far into what is said and then get all nerd rage when their interpretation of what was said, turns out to be not true at all. Edited June 13, 2012 by Mogic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spectreclees Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 Blizzard...? For the longest time they were always in the dark with the community. That changed as the years went on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fronteria Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 A short example of the Anarchy Online Soon™ New Engine - Announced: June 2007 ETA: Rebalancing - Announced: January 2009 ETA: 2012 New TL7 Pets - Announced: March 2009 ETA: Uh... AS Changes - Announced: July 2009 ETA: TBA Parry/Riposte - Announced: October 2009 ETA: ??? Perk Changes - Announced: October 2009 ETA: Right after server merge Breed Change - Announced: November 2009 ETA: Hell freezing Beta Server - Announced: January 2010 ETA: Pigs Flying TL5 AI Dungeon - Announced: May 2010 ETA: Give them some time geez! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pexxle Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 People have their own opinions but if BW were to be any more helpful/informative they may end up at your front door to join your family for dinner. Secrecy? No. They divulge what they intend to do and can handle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nereel Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 Part of the secrecy is due to the fact the parent company is publicly traded. If they leak information about future plans or updates in an uncontrolled manner they could find themselves in trouble with the SEC and subject to class action lawsuits and insider trading allegations. While it seems silly from a gamer standpoint unfortunately they have to manage the amount of information shared related to future plans against the risk that it will come back and bite them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kthx Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 (edited) Stop and think about how MMO "fans" act and react, and it becomes fairly obvious why developers handle communications the way they do. This is neither new nor unusual. The purported amount of secrecy is also overstated: In terms of broad features, BioWare has been pretty open about what is coming down the pipeline. What people are complaining about are really details, especially implementations dates. But this is true in many industries...dates are generally kept close to the vest. Edited June 13, 2012 by Kthx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmcooke Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 People have their own opinions but if BW were to be any more helpful/informative they may end up at your front door to join your family for dinner. Secrecy? No. They divulge what they intend to do and can handle. I've been doing alot of defending BW the last few days because of the ludicrous amount whiny special snowflake entitlement brats on here, but I think you may be overstating BWs helpfulness here. They pretty much suck, but only about the same as every other MMO dev is all I'm saying. And this transfer thing, I actually think is being handled pretty well. But overall, they've done a fairly crappy job, just no crappier than all the other devs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keypek Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 Yep, almost every one I've played. Most notably Mythic with Warhammer online. Which has a lot of similar people connected to swtor unfortunately. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arlbo_Nabbins Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 (edited) It seems like the answer to most questions people ask about the game and the direction it's going in from the devs is "we can't discuss our future plans" even if it's something that would do no harm in telling us. Exxactly the same approach as the vast majority of other MMOs. Yes there would be harm as some people would take statements like "we are planning to do X, probably this year" as "We promise to implement this in the next patch" and then rage when it doesn't happen. It just gives off this elitist attitude almost like they are better than other game developers and they don't need to be open with us because were just going to play anyway. If they started actually communicating with the player base maybe you wouldn't have so many pissed off for lack of information. It's ridiculous they couldn't even tell us how many servers would be open for transfer the first day because it would have made a lot of people happy. Hell, they probably have the whole list but can't even release the names of todays servers. Anyone agree? Nealy all MMO developers are the same as BW. And no I don't agree. Edited June 13, 2012 by Arlbo_Nabbins Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackardin Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 I'm going to start to cut and paste this on every one of these types of threads. There is a process here. The first round was a test. Code is very complicated and the least bit of change, such as going live, can alter one little thing and send a chain reaction through the entire system. They spent the morning monitoring reams of data while also receiving a flood of new information required to move to the second stage. Once they survived that, they began the next phase. Now it is all up to the players before they can make their next move. They have to allow for the process to work so that they have the information necessary to move to the next round. Think of it in terms of a football playoff chart. They have this huge board on the wall with the format in place, but they cannot plug the teams into the next round until they see who wins the previous round. In short there is no update to make until the players finish moving and its down to a trickle. Once that is done, they can determine the needs of each destination server and then make the next determination. Right now there is nothing to give us. When they have that information, you will find it on the transfer page in the form of the next round. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vasslis Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 I played a game called Vanguard, which had the worst public relations of any mmo I've played. SWTOR by comparison seems a lot more friendlier and interesting. I really enjoyed the Rakghoul event, hopefully they will have more like them. Here at least the company is making some effort to communicate, where in that other game there was none. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alpine Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 Devs were very secretive about future patch content to some degree with pretty much every game I've played that has had an online presence. I've played a lot of computer games since the early 90's. The most secretive IMO was Galaxies. I'm sure you'll see a lot of people who reply to this thread say the same thing. They were super tight lipped, it created a lot of paranoia among the playerbase. I actually think BW's communication has been fairly decent. They have clearly told us what will be happening. They aren't often clear on the tiny specifics of what will happen (for example there will be server transfers starting June 12th but when servers will actually be transferred or which ones we dont know) but they at least let you know what is going to happen often months ahead! The reason they can't be too specific is obvious. If they have to delay the process it creates much more anger from the population. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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