Is this lack of communication normal?

[DarthWoad]

Last week on the 8th of September there was a dev reply about a bug, and 2 days ago we get a message from Eric reminding us of the rules of datamining. This is on the dev tracker.

 

Why is there such a lack of communication? Is everyone busy at Bioware? Do they need to go through a multi stage process to post on the forums? Why is it so difficult?

EDIT: Eric, if you see this, it's not all about KOTET. I never said anything about KOTET, you brought that up. Not everyone is excited for it. It's about general day to day communication and addressing other player concerns which I personally would like to see more of.

Edited September 14, 2016 by DarthWoad

[ZanyaCross]

Why is there such a lack of communication? Is everyone at Bioware? Do they need to go through a multi stage process to post on the forums? Why is it so difficult?

 

Because EA.

[DarthWoad]

Because EA.

 

But EA supports this game......

 

EA supports this game... we are receiving an incredible amount of support from all of our partners.

Edited September 14, 2016 by DarthWoad

[Tsetso]

But EA supports this game......

 

And Disney supports this game

[Savej]

BW has in the past taken stabs at posting more on the forums. But once we get used to a poster some people will bite their heads off (developer families have been contacted and threatened at least once in the past). If you were a dev why would you want to come here and answer questions and arguments about all the things you don't have the resources to implement over and over?

 

BW has said that posting things about imminent expacs can and has impacted their perception/reception in the past so their policy is probably along the lines of "don't say anything". Also, EA just announced that BW has a new overseer/manager: the caca may be hitting the fan internally at BW at this time (or maybe the regime change was a peaceful one, hard to say, but given EA's reputation I doubt it).

Edited September 16, 2016 by Savej

[TUXs]

And Disney supports this game

Obviously they do. We have another year of EPIC Bioware storytelling coming, where our choices matter.

[Tsetso]

Obviously they do. We have another year of EPIC Bioware storytelling coming, where our choices matter.

 

I have a proof:

BioWare supports this game. EA supports this game. Lucasfilm supports this game. Disney supports this game.

 

If Ben Irving has said it is 100% truth

[PlasmaJohn]

BW has in the past taken stabs at posting more on the forums. But once we get used to a poster some people will bite their heads off (developer families have been contacted and threatened at least once in the past).

If I treated my employer's customers the way that guy did I would have been immediately walked out of the building. He made several changes that were poorly received and lashed out at the player base in response. Of course that doesn't warrant stalking but it does give hints why they tend to get their heads bit off.

 

They constantly make mistakes and are unwilling to own up to them. Worse they make these mistakes in isolation and by the time the details get to the people that can point out the problems it's far too late to correct.

[CKNORTH]

Obviously they do. We have another year of EPIC Bioware storytelling coming, where our choices matter.

 

Haha yeah here is a part of the Epic story telling, See my Credit Card in my wallet? it wont be used here no more...

 

its a sad Epic story, but very very true! i have found greener pastures to plant seeds in is all.

 

as for lack of communication to the community from the devs, i am at the point thinking its not them who need to say anything, its up to us to make a real decision on where our own personal story's go in the form of it wont be here, in this game per say...

[gabigool]

Last week on the 8th of September there was a dev reply about a bug, and 2 days ago we get a message from Eric reminding us of the rules of datamining. This is on the dev tracker.

 

Why is there such a lack of communication? Is everyone at Bioware? Do they need to go through a multi stage process to post on the forums? Why is it so difficult?

 

My suspicion is that the abject lack of communication is just a symptom of the underlying issue.

 

The studio has no real grasp of how to operate an MMO. This manifests itself in many ways.

 

Consider the following things:

 

Community interaction - essentially none.

Content cadence - Essentially every sub-segment of playerbase has gone years without content at least once.

Major class imbalance correction - ridiculously over/underpowered classes remain so for well over 6 months

 

All of this is fine for a single player title. It is inexplicable in an MMO. Yet these are conscious decisions. There are people at the studio, making decisions, who believe this is an optimal operating strategy.

 

And look at the traditional MMO aspects of this game. It is clear there is nobody - at least in a decision making capacity - that understands the mindset of the players who enjoy such content.

 

PvP? Just watch Snave's interview with Eric. Or the PvP video with the dev. It is clear they do not understand how to foster an environment where these communities can grow.

 

PvE? I could go for hours but two things stand out as being such bad decisions, any one of them could have been enough on its own:

 

- Hardmare - this game does not have a playerbase where this makes sense.

- No 224 in NM at 4.0 launch. That literally made me speechless when I saw it.

 

These were decisions that simply are bad, from any point of view. But more importantly, they are decisions that cannot be made from any position but ignorance.

 

This studio wants a single player game. That is clear. No one, including them, deny this. As such, we cannot expect them to communicate in a manner that is expected from an MMO.

[EricMusco]

Hey folks,

 

I thought this thread was a good opportunity to talk about the communication as of late. Although I may not post every day, I am definitely here, reading the forums. I know that there is frustration right now because you are all eager to learn more about what is coming in Knights of the Eternal Throne. We just aren't ready to talk about Eternal Throne yet, and so I can't answer your questions at this time.

 

But, I do want to make sure you know when we will begin really talking about Eternal Throne. That date is October 7th. The day/night of our New York Comic-con Cantina is when you can expect details about Eternal Throne. Once we have crossed the 7th (and through launch), I will be able to address questions in the forum more directly, we will be posting developer blogs related to the expansion, and more.

 

I know this post is an announcement of an announcement but were almost there, only a few more weeks.

 

Thanks everyone.

 

-eric

Edited September 14, 2016 by EricMusco

[Saregon]

Hey folks,

 

I thought this thread was a good opportunity to talk about the communication as of late. Although I may not post every day, I am definitely here, reading the forums. I know that there is frustration right now because you are all eager to learn more about what is coming in Knights of the Eternal Throne. We just aren't ready to talk about Eternal Throne yet, and so I can't answer your questions at this time.

 

But, I do want to make sure you know when we will begin really talking about Eternal Throne. That date is October 7th. The day/night of our New York Comic-con Cantina is when you can expect details about Eternal Throne. Once we have crossed the 7th (and through launch), I will be able to address questions in the forum more directly, we will be posting developer blogs related to the expansion, and more.

 

I know this post is an announcement of an announcement but were almost there, only a few more weeks.

 

Thanks everyone.

 

-eric

 

And the tonedeafness continues LOL!

[azudelphi]

Hey folks,

 

I thought this thread was a good opportunity to talk about the communication as of late. Although I may not post every day, I am definitely here, reading the forums. I know that there is frustration right now because you are all eager to learn more about what is coming in Knights of the Eternal Throne. We just aren't ready to talk about Eternal Throne yet, and so I can't answer your questions at this time.

 

But, I do want to make sure you know when we will begin really talking about Eternal Throne. That date is October 7th. The day/night of our New York Comic-con Cantina is when you can expect details about Eternal Throne. Once we have crossed the 7th (and through launch), I will be able to address questions in the forum more directly, we will be posting developer blogs related to the expansion, and more.

 

I know this post is an announcement of an announcement but were almost there, only a few more weeks.

 

Thanks everyone.

 

-eric

Is there any possibility of getting permissions to throw us even the most generic of details? Macro level stuff, level cap increases, content plans...October subscriber rewards? (Right now I don't think any are planned there). No companion spoilers or storyline stuff needed.

 

I'm not saying announce the full details of the expansion, but anything to turn frustration back towards hype...

Edited September 14, 2016 by azudelphi

[DarthWoad]

Hey folks,

 

I thought this thread was a good opportunity to talk about the communication as of late. Although I may not post every day, I am definitely here, reading the forums. I know that there is frustration right now because you are all eager to learn more about what is coming in Knights of the Eternal Throne. We just aren't ready to talk about Eternal Throne yet, and so I can't answer your questions at this time.

 

That's cool and all, but this isn't really all about the eternal throne. To me it's also about talking with the community, commenting on fan fiction, commenting in the off topic section, you know, just general chit chat in general?

 

As a community manager i'd want you to talk with us, more than an "announcement manager", cause that's the impression I get.

Edited September 14, 2016 by DarthWoad

[Andryah]

But, I do want to make sure you know when we will begin really talking about Eternal Throne. That date is October 7th. The day/night of our New York Comic-con Cantina is when you can expect details about Eternal Throne. Once we have crossed the 7th (and through launch), I will be able to address questions in the forum more directly, we will be posting developer blogs related to the expansion, and more.

 

So... 3 weeks from now, they have committed to release KoTFE info. By the way... they committed to this earlier, so even this is not new news.

 

Are you all really so impatient that you are unwilling or incapable of waiting for 3 weeks? Or are we going to be treated to 3 more weeks of complaints/tantrums?

 

The 90 days leading up to an SWTOR expac = always the nastiest and darkest of days on the forums. It was like this last year as well, and the year before that too. Some people have short memories and zero patience, IMO.

Edited September 14, 2016 by Andryah

[DarthWoad]

So... 3 weeks from now, they have committed to release KoTFE info. By the way... they committed to this earlier, so even this is not new news.

 

Are you all really so impatient that you are unwilling or incapable of waiting for 3 weeks? Or are we going to be treated to 3 more weeks of complaints/tantrums?

 

The 90 days leading up to an SWTOR expac = always the nastiest and darkest of days on the forums. It was like this last year as well, and the year before that too. Some people have short memories and zero patience, IMO.

 

Damn Andryah, back at it again with the attacks!

 

People have short memories, zero patience, impatient, have tantrums....any more words you'd like to add to your complaints about other people?

 

And by the way, I never said anything about KOTET. This thread is about general communication. Eric was the one who brought KOTET up. (also, I think you meant KOTET, not KOTFE)

 

EDIT:

oh forgot to add IMO. It makes me immune.

Edited September 14, 2016 by DarthWoad

[TheRandomno]

What about all the other stuff that isn't related to KotET/5.0 that seemed to be ignored? The most popular one right now seems to be the seeker droid/macrobinocular final missions.

[SteveTheCynic]

Is there any possibility of getting permissions to throw us even the most generic of details? Macro level stuff, level cap increases, content plans...October subscriber rewards? (Right now I don't think any are planned there). No companion spoilers or storyline stuff needed.

 

I'm not saying announce the full details of the expansion, but anything to turn frustration back towards hype...

I'm sure they have permission to release some details, on the 7th of October. I wouldn't go so far as to say that patience is a *virtue*, but I *would* say that it's a useful tool.

[TX_Angel]

And the tonedeafness continues LOL!

 

Truth!

 

Either Eric doesn't get it, or doesn't care... I honestly don't know which it is...

 

But his reply makes clear all that is wrong... Neither he nor his bosses understand how to run a game company that publishes a major MMO...

[MACharlieV]

If I treated my employer's customers the way that guy did I would have been immediately walked out of the building. He made several changes that were poorly received and lashed out at the player base in response. Of course that doesn't warrant stalking but it does give hints why they tend to get their heads bit off.

 

They constantly make mistakes and are unwilling to own up to them. Worse they make these mistakes in isolation and by the time the details get to the people that can point out the problems it's far too late to correct.

Not the entire story with dev communication. It's happened on more then one occasion. I think the one Bioware likes to reference is the one with Shadow of Revan delay.

 

I know another writer (I believe she wrote the Consular storyline?) got major backlash after an interview.

 

Yeah. This community is SO worth talking to...

[Archellion]

. . .you are all eager to learn more about what is coming in Knights of the Eternal Throne.

 

Honestly? Not really. (side note: are you just here to talk about Rampart?)

 

I'm not trying to be mean, and I only offer the following because I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt that you genuinely have misread what everyone is asking.

 

There is so much more that I am so much more eager to learn more about than KotET. How about someone addressing five years worth of questions about guild management improvements? How about five years worth of questions about PvP balance issues? How about five years worth of concerns on the illusory nature of player choice in in SWTOR? How about five years worth of concerns about slow-to-non-existent developer feedback? That's just to name a few of the things people are actually "eager to learn more about."

 

Again, I don't want to give the impression that I don't appreciate you showing up here in this thread. I do. However, it seems like you've missed the mark on exactly what it is we're asking for, and I suspect you're only doing as you're directed, so maybe you can take this information I've provided to the Powers That Be™ and see if they'll deign to address our concerns.

[dr_mike]

Hey folks,

 

While we're waiting, do you think you can fulfill your duties of Community Manager and respond to the three emails you have received from me?

 

Thank you once again for ignore the customer service side of your job description.

Edited September 14, 2016 by dr_mike

[azudelphi]

I'm sure they have permission to release some details, on the 7th of October. I wouldn't go so far as to say that patience is a *virtue*, but I *would* say that it's a useful tool.

I agree. I am generally a patient individual really... but reflection of late has me wondering on the value my sub is providing. Unfortunately, this has me in a place where the longer I am left without information about what is (or isnt) going to be added or changing in this game, the more frustration is going to drive me away from this game. Patient is a virtue, but not limitless...

[Costello]

Can you let us know if the story team read the posts in the story and lore section and are aware of the massive number of plot holes, inconsistencies and in short bland, dull and banal story that was Kotfe?

 

Do the game play team read the forums and see that 20 mins of cut scenes followed by 10 mins of sky troopers falling from the sky an exciting chapter it is not?

 

While you can't talk about is the operations person planning just to rescale all ops to level 70 and call it a day, with no new operations? If so is there going to be an alternate method to get the new tier of gear without having to regrind the same operations again?

 

Even if you can't talk about future content, can you talk about old content such as explain why we spend SOR resurrecting the Sith Emperor, ZIOST learning his a world devouring super ghost, only to then find his a loving benevolent family man and hadn't been slain and wasn't a world devouring super ghost. Its been 16 chapters and we still have no idea what the hell all that was about.

 

Or, now a post has been made and despite claims to read the forums, they aren't being monitored and this was a throw away to give the white knights a rallying call 'We will learn all in October' only for October to roll around and all we learn is the level cap is going to be raised till 70. Only by then the White Knights will have had them moment of chest beating and gone off to play something else.

[kmufc]

Bioware since launch = We just aren't ready to talk yet