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Will BioWare ever fix their lack of communication with regards to what's in the pipe?

ZionHalcyon

By ZionHalcyon
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ZionHalcyon

ZionHalcyon

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It's something that hit me as I follow someone who does one of those things you aren't supposed to talk about here on Twitter.

 

And I get the devs frustration a little bit that someone is mining files and releasing tidbits of upcoming stuff.

 

But the reality is that people follow guys like that for a reason - because HE, this UNPAID person, is doing a FAR better job just by releasing those tidbits of hyping the game than BioWare does currently!

 

I know this seems like odd timing, as I am getting in right before the start of the big 3.0 bonanza (at least that is what we players are anticipating), but I admit I am worried.

 

Communication with the players has always been something Bioware has been horrible at - actually, let me rephrase that.

 

The team is actually pretty good at communication. But MARKETING THEIR OWN GAME is something BioWare has ALWAYS been HORRIBLE at, regardless of whether it was the past team or the current one. Other MMO companies know how to leave carrots for their players to keep them excited over what's coming next, and how to involve them and engage them for feedback.

 

I admit, I like the twitch stuff, and if this is how they choose to do things, and we just wait for people to report back to the forums, so be it, but I just hope once 3.0 is launched and in the books, we get better communication going forward, and marketing the game better much like other MMOs do for their players.

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ZionHalcyon

ZionHalcyon

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After seeing how people react to things being changed before it goes live, I don't blame them for being careful in how and when they release info.

 

Managing player expectations is a thing.

 

You might not blame them, but other MMO companies, particularly Blizzard and Turbine, do a much better job of knowing when to take the feedback and adjust course, and when to have thick skin and press on, and neither lets fear of fan reaction deter them - in fact, I haven't ever seen an MMO company act as "scared" of fan reaction as I have seen BioWare apparently act.

 

People can come up with all the excuses they want - the fact is, BioWare falls well short of the industry standard in this department.

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Infernixx

Infernixx

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You might not blame them, but other MMO companies, particularly Blizzard and Turbine, do a much better job of knowing when to take the feedback and adjust course, and when to have thick skin and press on, and neither lets fear of fan reaction deter them - in fact, I haven't ever seen an MMO company act as "scared" of fan reaction as I have seen BioWare apparently act.

 

People can come up with all the excuses they want - the fact is, BioWare falls well short of the industry standard in this department.

 

So, I'm throwing out excuses? lol Okay, have fun with your thread, though I 'will' say that if you think Blizzard all people know what they're doing at this point....wow.

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Arkerus

Arkerus

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It's something that hit me as I follow someone who does one of those things you aren't supposed to talk about here on Twitter.

 

And I get the devs frustration a little bit that someone is mining files and releasing tidbits of upcoming stuff.

 

But the reality is that people follow guys like that for a reason - because HE, this UNPAID person, is doing a FAR better job just by releasing those tidbits of hyping the game than BioWare does currently!

 

I know this seems like odd timing, as I am getting in right before the start of the big 3.0 bonanza (at least that is what we players are anticipating), but I admit I am worried.

 

Communication with the players has always been something Bioware has been horrible at - actually, let me rephrase that.

 

The team is actually pretty good at communication. But MARKETING THEIR OWN GAME is something BioWare has ALWAYS been HORRIBLE at, regardless of whether it was the past team or the current one. Other MMO companies know how to leave carrots for their players to keep them excited over what's coming next, and how to involve them and engage them for feedback.

 

I admit, I like the twitch stuff, and if this is how they choose to do things, and we just wait for people to report back to the forums, so be it, but I just hope once 3.0 is launched and in the books, we get better communication going forward, and marketing the game better much like other MMOs do for their players.

 

Oh the humanity!

 

But seriously...the humanity. You know for a fact new info is coming.

Edited by Arkerus
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theUndead

theUndead

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Seriously, you two could be co-chairs of an AA meeting - Apologists Anonymous.... :rak_03:

 

Zion, I usually respect your point of view even if I don't agree. However, your credibility is now shot because of this infantile response. Don't call people who disagree with you apologists. It just antagonizes people.

 

Anyway to your point, alot of the time when the devs release info if any kind is always and I mean always, met with anger. It doesn't actually matter what they say people will still complain or doing what you doing and looking for excuses to complain.

 

So yes they being careful and rightfully so. Deal with it.

Edited by theUndead
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Darth_Wicked

Darth_Wicked

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Zion, I usually respect your point of view even if I don't agree. However, your credibility is now shot because of this infantile response. Don't call people who disagree with you apologists. It just antagonizes people. (...)

 

What I find most ironic, considering his behaviour in the forums, is the upper half of his signature. :rolleyes:

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Toweleeeie

Toweleeeie

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I feel like it is their strategy to retain subs.

 

They know all the content coming out after Makeb (last content from original devs) will be underwhelming and in small amounts due to very strict budget. In EAs eyes this game is a failure, which is why the budget is the way it is even though the CM is doing well.

 

So their plan is to not communicate till they absolutely have to. That way they don't lose subs after releasing details that are disappointing. I'm guessing 90% of the current subs are die hard Star Wars fans subbing because of hopes and dreams. I am one of them.

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Darth_Wicked

Darth_Wicked

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I feel like it is their strategy to retain subs.

 

They know all the content coming out after Makeb (last content from original devs) will be underwhelming and in small amounts due to very strict budget. In EAs eyes this game is a failure, which is why the budget is the way it is even though the CM is doing well.

 

So their plan is to not communicate till they absolutely have to. That way they don't lose subs after releasing details that are disappointing. I'm guessing 90% of the current subs are die hard Star Wars fans subbing because of hopes and dreams. I am one of them.

 

The upcoming content is new. Most of the stuff you're referring to was already used or retooled.

Edited by Darth_Wicked
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Darth_Wicked

Darth_Wicked

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Was it? I was under the impression that it was mostly done by the old team?

 

Communication could always be better but meh, I've lost most of my hype and hopes for this game. At this poin't I'll take anything they give me. :(

 

 

There's nothing pertaining Makeb in the original leaks. Not one thing.

 

Makeb - IMHO anyway - is the byproduct of the class stories being canned. It marked a shift when plenty of stuff we knew was heavily retooled or scrapped altogether, for now anyway.

 

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OddballEasyEight

OddballEasyEight

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This has been stated, but it deserves to be stated again:

 

This communication strategy is not something that's just popped up over night.

When the game launched they were pretty good at giving information well before releases.

 

But as most sensible people understand, things change when they are still in development.

And what resulted from that was that people were outraged that things that the devs had said "would be done" were not done.

It doesn't matter that the devs stated that it was all subject to change or even said that "this is how we might do it", everything was taken as a solid promise of how it would be instead of as hints to how it might be.

Hell, people even complained when mere rumors turned out to be wrong and claimed that "the devs lied to us" when no dev had ever said anything in the first place.

 

So it's no wonder that they are keeping everything close to their chest until it's 100% done and ready for release.

 

 

The only one to blame and the only thing to "fix" here is the community and its attitude towards communication from the devs.

Edited by OddballEasyEight
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AMightyKnight

AMightyKnight

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There's nothing pertaining Makeb in the original leaks. Not one thing.

 

Regarding Makeb:

 

 

Not entirely true. While much was redesigned, its very likely that Makeb = Varl from the old patch plans.

They pretty much butchered the Dread Master Storyline, moving stuff around and changing the story radically, but the basics from pretty much everything we have seen up to this point were being worked on pre launch.

This inlcudes Rakata Prime, i'm not so sure about Tython and Korriban TFPs, but there are ancient devs quotes from pre 2.0 days about going back to those planets...

So it looks like 3.0 will be the first story content entirely designed by the new dev team.

 

 

Edited by AMightyKnight
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Darth_Wicked

Darth_Wicked

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Not entirely true. While much was redesigned, its very likely that Makeb = Varl from the old patch plans.

They pretty much butchered the Dread Master Storyline, moving stuff around and changing the story radically, but the basics from pretty much everything we have seen up to this point were being worked on pre launch.

This inlcudes Rakata Prime, i'm not so sure about Tython and Korriban TFPs, but there are ancient devs quotes from pre 2.0 days about going back to those planets...

So it llooks like 3.0 will be the first story content entirely designed by the new dev team.

 

 

 

You're not telling me anything new really.

 

Thus why I used the term "retooled" earlier I guess. :p

 

David Anthony Pizzuto for example is voicing Tanno on Makeb, yet he died in early 2012. It is likely to assume that Makeb was in early stages when he died but early stages and being done and finished by the original team are not one and the same.

 

EDIT:

 

Now that I check those links again, I was truly in denial pertaining Varl. I so wanted to go there quite honestly. :(

 

Edited by Darth_Wicked
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