Is this lack of communication normal?

[Shwarzchild]

I'm sorry, but I am not apathetic on this topic.. no matter how many times you keep saying it.

 

I simply know a lost cause when I see it. It's not like they don't or won't communicate, they simply will not do so to the satisfaction of players... period. Now.. tell me exactly what you can and will do to change this? Please.. tell me what the effective agent of change is here.. when players have zero control over studio communications. Actually effect the change demanded and idealized in this thread and I will be your biggest cheerleader and fan. Even this thread, in spite of responses from Eric (which were largely panned by posters here) has effected ZERO change in studio behavior on communications.

 

I care about a lot of things in life that I can do absolutely nothing about. Embracing and understanding what you can change and what you cannot change is both pragmatic and healthy for ones state of mind. I want more communications, but I also know there is nothing I can do to effect any change along those lines in the context of this discussion. You.. apparently feel you can and will effect change. By all means.. keep on trucking on. But if the process makes you angry and bitter or frustrated, you own the feelings.. the studio is simply a trigger for your feelings.

 

I'd suggest that even though we haven't seen communication increase in as many meaningful ways as we would like continually voicing frustration with long periods of time where communication is too low from the studio is acting as an agent of change. Just because it's not immediate doesn't mean that voicing frustration over the lack of communication isn't qualifying as an agent of change. I'd go so far as to say it's been quietly effective. In live streams they have started to touch on areas of concern. They go on outside medias like podcasts to give interviews, and if we track backwards they have even admitted that communication needs to be better on their end. So, it's not so much an ineffective tool to promote the change we desire. It's just something that takes or is taking longer to sink in at their organizational level. If we just stop the message that would be counter productive to what we are going for. It comes down to resolve almost in a philosophical sense. We're pushing for a higher standard from BW. They see that. They understand that. And, while they haven't found the balance yet I'd like to think they are aware and are working towards that balance point.

 

Giving up and just chalking things up to "lost cause" isn't being sensible. Pragmatism is based on sensibility. I'd go so far as to say stopping the message and giving up is senseless and against what pragmatism is built on.

[Jamtas]

I

By all means, keep demanding and flaming them over it. Yeah.. that will surely force them to change.

 

You know, you are so right. Asking for/Demanding change is never going to work. I'll just accept it and then maybe everything will get better. much better tactic

[Andryah]

Giving up and just chalking things up to "lost cause" isn't being sensible.

 

I would not call it a lost cause. But I would say that expectations on the part of the player base are an issue in conflict with the studio. Players expect one thing, studio does something else. Players insist they have the power to effect change, even though more then 4 years has proven this wrong on this topic... THAT is not sensible in my view.

 

But hey.. by all means fight a fight you cannot win.. by all means. In fact, double down on it. See where that gets you.

 

Pragmatism is based on sensibility.

 

Absolutely agree with you on this. We disagree on the sensibility of the community continuing to follow the same dramatic practices to "effect change". Hell, on most topics, the forum cannot even reach agreement amongst themselves.... because different players have different outlooks on things, different feelings about what they are playing, and different personalities.

 

A gaming forum allows players to discuss and compare viewpoints on a wide range of game related topics. It also provides a channel for studio and players to interact too.. to a much more limited degree (in every MMO, not just this one). It does not provide a channel for players to dictate studio policy and processes. I understand this, I'm not sure why others do not.

 

What I find interesting is people in this thread trying to shut me down because my viewpoint is different then theirs. If you feel so secure in your views on the topic, nothing I share should have any effect on you whatsoever. When I share my views on something, it is to encourage others to maybe step outside of their box and take a more objective view of what they are up against here. Spend time and energy on constructive suggestions and requests. That is a good thing to do. However, to expect every such suggestion and request will be met by a service where you have no SLA, no warrantees, is a bit over the top. Like it or not.. MMOs are an "as is" service from the studios. We either like it, cope with it, or move on.

 

There is a large absence of coping going on here IMO by some. Then again, coping can take on a positive or negative undertone too.. so maybe it's better to just say there is a lot of negativity about a subject none of us are in any position to effect change upon.

Edited September 22, 2016 by Andryah

[DarthWoad]

I would not call it a lost cause. But I would say that expectations on the part of the player base are an issue in conflict with the studio. Players expect one thing, studio does something else. Players insist they have the power to effect change, even though more then 4 years has proven this wrong on this topic... THAT is not sensible in my view.

 

But hey.. by all means fight a fight you cannot win.. by all means. In fact, double down on it. See where that gets you.

 

 

 

Absolutely agree with you on this. We disagree on the sensibility of the community continuing to follow the same dramatic practices to "effect change". Hell, on most topics, the forum cannot even reach agreement amongst themselves.... because different players have different outlooks on things, different feelings about what they are playing, and different personalities.

 

A gaming forum allows players to discuss and compare viewpoints on a wide range of game related topics. It also provides a channel for studio and players to interact too.. to a much more limited degree (in every MMO, not just this one). It does not provide a channel for players to dictate studio policy and processes. I understand this, I'm not sure why others do not.

 

What I find interesting is people in this thread trying to shut me down because my viewpoint is different then theirs. If you feel so secure in your views on the topic, nothing I share should have any effect on you whatsoever. When I share my views on something, it is to encourage others to maybe step outside of their box and take a more objective view of what they are up against here. Spend time and energy on constructive suggestions and requests. That is a good thing to do. However, to expect every such suggestion and request will be met by a service where you have no SLA, no warrantees, is a bit over the top. Like it or not.. MMOs are an "as is" service from the studios. We either like it, cope with it, or move on.

 

There is a large absence of coping going on here IMO by some.

 

You write all that, saying trying to double down is bad. But you haven't given us a solution. What is your solution? How exactly are you going to stop people from having a go at the studio? How are you going to stop people from being angry?

 

How can you improve communication between developers and customers?

 

We fully support that you have the right to say your views and opinoins, but we don't like it when you try to push it onto others and belittle them, especially if it's a rather toxic or backwards opinion. You've said that we just have to accept it and do nothing. That is why people are trying to "shut you down" as you put it. They aren't shutting you down, they're just trying to make you understand.

Edited September 22, 2016 by DarthWoad

[Shwarzchild]

I would not call it a lost cause. But I would say that expectations on the part of the player base are an issue in conflict with the studio. Players expect one thing, studio does something else. Players insist they have the power to effect change, even though more then 4 years has proven this wrong on this topic... THAT is not sensible in my view.

 

I simply know a lost cause when I see it. is your direct quote from an above post of yours...so yeaaaaa you kinda did call it a lost cause

 

But hey.. by all means fight a fight you cannot win.. by all means. In fact, double down on it. See where that gets you.

 

 

 

Absolutely agree with you on this. We disagree on the sensibility of the community continuing to follow the same dramatic practices to "effect change". Hell, on most topics, the forum cannot even reach agreement amongst themselves.... because different players have different outlooks on things, different feelings about what they are playing, and different personalities.

 

A gaming forum allows players to discuss and compare viewpoints on a wide range of game related topics. It also provides a channel for studio and players to interact too.. to a much more limited degree (in every MMO, not just this one). It does not provide a channel for players to dictate studio policy and processes. I understand this, I'm not sure why others do not.

 

What I find interesting is people in this thread trying to shut me down because my viewpoint is different then theirs. If you feel so secure in your views on the topic, nothing I share should have any effect on you whatsoever. When I share my views on something, it is to encourage others to maybe step outside of their box and take a more objective view of what they are up against here. Spend time and energy on constructive suggestions and requests. That is a good thing to do. However, to expect every such suggestion and request will be met by a service where you have no SLA, no warrantees, is a bit over the top. Like it or not.. MMOs are an "as is" service from the studios. We either like it, cope with it, or move on.

 

There is a large absence of coping going on here IMO by some.

 

I'm not trying to shut you down. I'm just disagreeing with you on some of the points you make. While I'd love to feel like I could effect change in the content Bioware delivers I know I can't. But, I will continue to ask them to hold themselves to higher standards across the board. Ultimately, I have the power to say no. And, while my 15 dollars won't be anything but a drop in the bucket, I do have the right to exercise that power however small it may be on an individual level if or when I choose that BW is no longer worth supporting. Until that time though, I don't see raising weak points to the fore front as bad or unproductive. We do agree though that there's ways to voice opinions correctly, and ways not to. And, that line does get crossed. Ideally it wouldn't, but it will. More so, maybe this is in agreement with you or not I'm not sure at this point, but I think BW needs to look past the isolated incidents and realize those are such a low percentage that to base an entire strategy on them is ill advised as well.

[Andryah]

I'm not trying to shut you down. I'm just disagreeing with you on some of the points you make. While I'd love to feel like I could effect change in the content Bioware delivers I know I can't. But, I will continue to ask them to hold themselves to higher standards across the board. Ultimately, I have the power to say no. And, while my 15 dollars won't be anything but a drop in the bucket, I do have the right to exercise that power however small it may be on an individual level if or when I choose that BW is no longer worth supporting. Until that time though, I don't see raising weak points to the fore front as bad or unproductive. We do agree though that there's ways to voice opinions correctly, and ways not to. And, that line does get crossed. Ideally it wouldn't, but it will. More so, maybe this is in agreement with you or not I'm not sure at this point, but I think BW needs to look past the isolated incidents and realize those are such a low percentage that to base an entire strategy on them is ill advised as well.

 

Let me clarify a bit.....

 

It is, IMO, a lost cause to believe that we can force change in their communications. That's a negative approach to communications.

 

It is NOT a lost cause to work in a positive manner to encourage them to communicate more.

 

It is not a lost cause that they do not and will not communicate. They can, do, and will... but not to the level we as a community broadly desire. Well written, objective topic threads that make inquiry without accusations, demands, or an absolute expectation of a particular answer can and does work. But then again.. I don't think this is acceptable to some... which brings us right back to negative tension from players toward the studio.

 

Let me use this thread as an example. It was designed in my view to provoke a response from the studio. Notice the response from the studio that it provoked, and what it did not provoke. Read Erics comments in this thread. Now read the comments about his comments. Eric did respond, but not the way the OP wanted.. so quess what.. missed expectations and some people doubling down on the demand, rather then stepping back and looking at what was said and what was not said.

 

Eric, in his response reminded us that more information is coming... on 10/7. That, IMO, should have been sufficient and would be a modest accomplishment by the thread. But that was not enough.. people had to press harder and demand more and complain more and express their frustrations and in some cases vent. That pretty well shut down any further responses from Eric, IMO.

 

Clearly, they are not in a position to talk more yet.

 

It's a lost cause to expect the studio to communicate as openly and freely as some of us would like. However, it is not a lost cause that they will simply not communicate, nor that we cannot tease out some level of communication from them from time to time.

 

If we as a community want to encourage more communications, we have to begin by 1) not attacking the studio over things. It serves no purpose other then venting. 2) ask questions that are objective and that we know they can answer. Ask them openly and honestly, without expectation of an answer and then be surprised when you actually do get some answers. 3) stop making every pet peeve about the game a demand for more communications. 4) stop turning every dissatisfaction into a private war and basis for demanding communications.

 

They DID try being more communicative a few times in the past, and it always backfired on them. Where does the fault lay for this? In my view.. it lays with both the studio and the players. Players being hostile does not help this. If players think being hostile is the way to better communications from the studio...... I believe that approach is doomed.

 

TL;DR communications is not a power play that players can win here. That however does not mean we as a community cannot effect some improvements... but we have to start with a more positive mind set if we don't want the same pullbacks by the studio we have seen in the past to repeat. Because there are so many different players with different views and approaches though.. it only takes a few bad apples to spoil it for all of us. We as a community need to do more to discourage the negative behaviors in our own community if we want the studio to feel they can communicate more without putting their staff at risk of harassment or worse. I support a companies right and obligation to protect it's employees from it's customers.

 

I favor a positive approach with the studio rather then hit and run attacks and demands.

Edited September 22, 2016 by Andryah

[TUXs]

We fully support that you have the right to say your views and opinoins, but we don't like it when you try to push it onto others and belittle them, especially if it's a rather toxic or backwards opinion. You've said that we just have to accept it and do nothing. That is why people are trying to "shut you down" as you put it. They aren't shutting you down, they're just trying to make you understand.

We're not even trying to make him understand, we're simply trying to voice OUR opinions. When someone jumps in and says "it's all fine, nothing to see here", it makes us scratch our heads.

 

I LOVE it when someone disagrees with me because it gives me the chance to explain WHY I believe something, and also allows me to broaden my understanding of an issue. If someone disagrees, they obviously have a reason for it...I honestly try to listen to that reasoning and, if possible, consider them in my take on an issue...but it has to be a sincere issue, not disagreement just to disagree, which is something we a lot of on these forums.

 

Here's a perfect example - I used to be very pro-flagging for PvP if you attacked (even accidentally), someone who was flagged for PvP near you. My opinion, at the time, was "PAY ATTENTION! It's nobody's fault but your own"...however...the griefers continued to take advantage of the weak design of PvE areas and the topic came up over and over on these forums...people continued to make threads about it, and I continued to say "PAY ATTENTION"...until I realized something...players were confusing PvPers with these attention **edit** griefers. Because people kept complaining, I started to realize the severity of the issue...and I also noticed that PvPers were being blamed. Well, I love PvP, but I'm no freaking griefer...if this was turning players off to PvP, why the hell was I in favor of it? I want players to PvP...but I don't want them forced into it, or even worse, tricked into it. The numerous threads from numerous players, finally convinced me that I was on the wrong side of the argument, and I believe the numerous threads also had something to do with the changes to how planets are now zoned.

Edited September 22, 2016 by TUXs

[DarthWoad]

The numerous threads from numerous players, finally convinced me that I was on the wrong side of the argument, and I believe the numerous threads also had something to do with the changes to how planets are now zoned.

 

Exactly. If many people are disagreeing with you, maybe it's time to take a step back and think why they disagree with you, look at their point of view etc....Unfortunately for some, it's impossible to edcuate them on some things, they remain ignorant and totally believe things that are wrong.

[Transcendent]

Per the topic.. yeah.. for this studio.. the communications appear to be "normal".

 

From my own recollection, other BioWare studios have communicated with their player base far more than this BioWare studio. So from the corporate level of things, communication is allowed, it certainly isn't an edict from high from EA telling the BioWare studios not to communicate.

 

Perhaps there is something from Lucas Arts / Disney that detracts from the studio communicating effectively? Then again perhaps not, the level of communication from DICE for Battlefront outstrips anything BioWare Austin have managed in the last 4 years.

 

The problem from the way that I see things, for the type of game that this is (MMO+RPG) and for the IP that this is (Star Wars), the communication with the more dedicated players on BioWare Austins' very own forums is, for wont of a better word, lacklustre.

 

It's not only not condusive to a good community, it has the potential to damage this studio reputation beyond repair by constantly sticking their head in the sand because they fail to understand (seemingly) the importance of good communication.

 

You can hardly blame the community of the game for not providing the feedback (however it is phrased) for trying to get better and more frequent communication from the studio. For the community to be constantly met with silence on BioWare Austins own forums, while BioWare Austin is being active on other forms of social media is reprehensible.

 

BioWare Austin chose to create these forums as a medium for communication with the players, everyone who posts here is a paying customer and communication on these forums should be given priority over other forms of media providing communication. Look at it another way, I'm not paying BioWare Austin to employ someone to post on social media, I'm paying them to develop this game and to communicate on these forums that I pay for as a customer.

 

As it stands, if BioWare Austin released a new game tomorrow, I would avoid purchasing it based on their level of communication they provide with this title on their own forums.

[DarthWoad]

 

Let me use this thread as an example. It was designed in my view to provoke a response from the studio. Notice the response from the studio that it provoked, and what it did not provoke. Read Erics comments in this thread. Now read the comments about his comments. Eric did respond, but not the way the OP wanted.. so quess what.. missed expectations and some people doubling down on the demand, rather then stepping back and looking at what was said and what was not said.

 

Of course it was designed to get a response from the studio. That's why I made it!

 

But then you use the word provoke, as if to say I was trying to annoy people, trying to make them angry. You're right about it being entirely your VIEW. And I fully support you having the right to assume things, even though you are totally wrong about it. You may interpret things completely different to other people.

 

But as the OP of this thread, I'm telling you now that I had no intention of trying to anger people, or trying to start drama, or trying to provoke anyone.

 

Eric even said he hijacked my thread (we know he said it light heartedly) and gave a different answer, so no, he didn't give me the answers that I wanted. What exactly is your problem with that?

Edited September 22, 2016 by DarthWoad

[Rolodome]

Not to mention that if the only way to try to provide feedback is to scream into a pit and hope against hope the echo says something back is going to lend itself to frustration. There's no excuse for abusing CM's of course, but there is definitely a problem for the frustrated community that its concerns are not even acknowledged in many cases.

Yeah, that's certainly part of it. And like I said, that's one of the reasons the trend of silence is so vexing to me. It's like these companies have decided, "Our attempts to have good relations have failed. We give up." And yet, there are companies who do a reasonably good job of communicating with their players. It's not impossible. It just requires stretching outside of the comfort zone and thinking outside the box a little.

 

I think a reasonably good example of this is Gaile Gray, of GW2. She knows the info she can give is limited and she can more or less say that, but she still manages to find ways to relate to people and sound like a human being who cares about their concerns and is listening. She's good at flirting with that line of "one of the common people," even though she technically isn't. Mind you, I'm not saying that's the only way to do it... just she's an example of a way that seems to work moderately well. She's also not perfect at it, but, well... no one is.

 

(I do feel it's worth nothing, however, that this wasn't always the case. GW2 went through a rough period with a lot of complaints about communication and Gaile's position in the company changed somewhere along the line, I think as a result of that. She ended up getting a forum communications title and then eventually getting a communication manager title.)

[Andryah]

From my own recollection, other BioWare studios have communicated with their player base far more than this BioWare studio. So from the corporate level of things, communication is allowed, it certainly isn't an edict from high from EA telling the BioWare studios not to communicate.

 

Like many companies, this studio uses a variety of methods to communicate. Not all of them are on the forum, and this does bother some forum regulars.

 

Overall, I do feel they need to be a bit more timely in their communications, but my real pet peeve is that they will say one thing and then do something else. That part of their communications process need to improve, because it's not being quiet.. it's being dishonest (even if there was no intention to deceive, because something changed). Which in turn gives some players the feeling that they are entitled to attack the studio. They need to be more thoughtful about what they communicate and when so that they don't stomp all over their own statements.

 

I don't get upset if they tell us they can't tell us something yet... because in saying that, they as much as admitted they intend to communicate about whatever that something is. This is where my statement earlier about "patience" comes into play. But other players disagree and want/demand it now and more of it.

 

And let's be honest here.. some of what they communicate immediately gets parsed (often pessimistically) by some players and much drama that is unneeded spawns in the forum. Some people are just poor at reading comprehension. Some players are subjective readers and read into something what they want to see. And we have players that are very good readers, and ask good follow-up questions that done correctly can in fact get an additional post from the studio on a topic too.

 

Players and studio need to meet each other half way on this if communications are to improve. You can't put it all on the studio and you can't put it all on the players. [Please everyone read my last sentence again and stop accusing me of always taking the studios side on things]. This is a lot of responsibility on both ends, and I have my doubts about the sincerity of some players in this regard. So again, even if a lot of players take an objective approach, and the studio steps our of it shell more... there can still be players that poison the well and cause yet another pullback. The more we as a forum encourage negativity toward the studio, and do not push back on said negativity when it happens, the less chance of mutual progress we have on this topic AND other topics as well.

Edited September 22, 2016 by Andryah

[Andryah]

(I do feel it's worth noting, however, that this wasn't always the case. GW2 went through a rough period with a lot of complaints about communication and Gaile's position in the company changed somewhere along the line, I think as a result of that. She ended up getting a forum communications title and then eventually getting a communication manager title.)

 

Yeah... people seem to forget that every studio gets accused of being non-communicative by their players. Sometimes justified, sometimes not. Some more so, some less so. And it is the negative players who most often stir things up to the point the studio pulls back. Even if they don't pullback, they still get accused of not communicating on some special interest every day of the week. If we had less negativity for the sake of negativity, and more objective presenting of views and discussion, there would be a lot less of this. Unfortunately, social media channels are moving society in the wrong direction in this regard... and I really don't know how this gets fixed.

[Tsillah]

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

 

Well, I understand as such that you don't want to give away too much info about an expansion too quickly. That by itself is fair comment. What I don't understand so much is why there is no clear vision or direction for this game. The complaints here about the lack of communication are not so much about not getting info about this particular expansion as much as people have been wanting to know for about two years now where this game is going.

 

If that was clear, I think there would be a lot less anger about the lack of communication because at this point, the news about the expansion on October 7th is the only chance we have to get any clue on the bigger picture of the game and its direction next to what KotET itself will offer. It's the lack of clarity on the big picture for an extended period of time that creates the frustration and urgency. At least it does for me.

[Shwarzchild]

Like many companies, this studio uses a variety of methods to communicate. Not all of them are on the forum, and this does bother some forum regulars.

 

Overall, I do feel they need to be a bit more timely in their communications, but my real pet peeve is that they will say one thing and then do something else. That part of their communications process need to improve, because it's not being quiet.. it's being dishonest (even if there was no intention to deceive, because something changed). Which in turn gives some players the feeling that they are entitled to attack the studio. They need to be more thoughtful about what they communicate and when so that they don't stomp all over their own statements.

 

I don't get upset if they tell us they can't tell us something yet... because in saying that, they as much as admitted they intend to communicate about whatever that something is. This is where my statement earlier about "patience" comes into play. But other players disagree and want/demand it now and more of it.

 

And let's be honest here.. some of what they communicate immediately gets parsed (often pessimistically) by some players and much drama that is unneeded spawns in the forum. Some people are just poor at reading comprehension. Some players are subjective readers and read into something what they want to see. And we have players that are very good readers, and ask good follow-up questions that done correctly can in fact get an additional post from the studio on a topic too.

 

Players and studio need to meet each other half way on this if communications are to improve. You can't put it all on the studio and you can't put it all on the players. [Please everyone read my last sentence again and stop accusing me of always taking the studios side on things]. This is a lot of responsibility on both ends, and I have my doubts about the sincerity of some players in this regard. So again, even if a lot of players take an objective approach, and the studio steps our of it shell more... there can still be players that poison the well and cause yet another pullback. The more we as a forum encourage negativity toward the studio, and do not push back on said negativity when it happens, the less chance of mutual progress we have on this topic AND other topics as well.

 

You know...i can agree with this.

 

 

Also as a bit of an aside I've seen Eric pop into other threads today. That's highly encouraging.

[FlavivsAetivs]

Hopefully the Devs will pop into the GSF forums one day.

 

~ Eudoxia

[Andryah]

Also as a bit of an aside I've seen Eric pop into other threads today. That's highly encouraging.

 

I see that too.

 

Of course one day does not make a pattern, but I noticed that topics that presented a question fairly and objectively and without resorting to attacks on the studio.... got responses, though one was a tease with a non-response response... which to me means stay tuned for more info in the future.

 

Eric has the perfect personality for being a CM in my view... so if we keep it somewhat friendly and objective, I think we may see more interaction from him.

 

I'm less certain if we will ever see direct dev posts again though.. seeing as there have been several major issues with how players have treated them in the past.. and not just the infamous "threats" we commonly talk about.

Edited September 22, 2016 by Andryah

[Rolodome]

Yeah... people seem to forget that every studio gets accused of being non-communicative by their players. Sometimes justified, sometimes not. Some more so, some less so. And it is the negative players who most often stir things up to the point the studio pulls back. Even if they don't pullback, they still get accused of not communicating on some special interest every day of the week. If we had less negativity for the sake of negativity, and more objective presenting of views and discussion, there would be a lot less of this. Unfortunately, social media channels are moving society in the wrong direction in this regard... and I really don't know how this gets fixed.

I don't know how you took that as the point from what I said. The point was that GW2 is a company run by humans too and is not perfect. But also that they did improve their communication.

 

Objectivity and positivity are great things to ask for, and there's nothing wrong with trying to espouse such things as an individual and encourage others to do so, but you can't really blame the players for the studio pulling back because the number of players and how much variation there is, is huge; to be intimidated by the worst of humanity is understandable, but it's also one of those things that is "letting the bad guy win." I'm not asking anyone to be soldiers though. Just calling attention to the general idea that if you let a wound fester, it'll get worse. If you patch it up, it'll start to heal some over time, on its own.

 

That said, social media is a mess in terms of negativity and mob mentality, but I'm not convinced that's particularly relevant in this instance, considering that despite every evolution, the forums still tend to be seen by players as the primary means of discourse.

 

I also think it's worth noting that sometimes frustration gets bottled up (like the festering wound analogy) and then when a staff post comes in, it comes rushing out like a dam breaking. This might seem like the stupidest thing that wound could do if it wants attention, but none of us can control the people who let loose when they see a staff post. And if staff posts were more of a regular thing most of the time, I don't think the frustration would be able to build up in quite the same way. Maybe I'm wrong about that and staff would just get abused more, but that's how it comes across to me.

[Shwarzchild]

I see that too.

 

Of course one day does not make a pattern, but I noticed that topics that presented a question fairly and objectively and without resorting to attacks on the studio.... got responses, though one was a tease with a non-response response... which to me means stay tuned for more info in the future.

 

Eric has the perfect personality for being a CM in my view... so if we keep it somewhat friendly and objective, I think we may see more interaction from him.

 

I'm less certain if we will ever see direct dev posts again though.. seeing as there have been several major issues with how players have treated them in the past.. and not just the infamous "threats" we commonly talk about.

 

You know what stuff I actually miss that I haven't seen in a while? Those short stories that kind of tease to the expansion plot. I remember them from I think it was the lead up to Ziost. It may have just been a thing Courtney did but man were they must click material. That'd be one of those community "touches" I'd like to see return. I'd love a road map too but I think that's really unlikely.

[SFDebris]

Yeah, that's certainly part of it. And like I said, that's one of the reasons the trend of silence is so vexing to me. It's like these companies have decided, "Our attempts to have good relations have failed. We give up." And yet, there are companies who do a reasonably good job of communicating with their players. It's not impossible. It just requires stretching outside of the comfort zone and thinking outside the box a little.

 

Yeah. Right now, there's a problem with the game so severe that I'm strongly considering leaving the game over it, I've brought it up numerous times for seven weeks now, had pages and pages of people concur with the problem, and yet to my knowledge no one at BW has heard it, because the only path is here, where your earnest plea is pushed off the front page by a gold farmer and his multiple accounts bumping threads to nerf legitimate players. And in the rare moments when replies do come in, there's no acknowledgment of that - at least raiders know that BW knows they're mad and why, but there's no sign that anyone has read a word about something that breaks the game at so fundamental a level that it makes me want to give up on it. And it's not as if it's a spoiler about KOTET, it's about "your game makes me feel like a helpless, hopeless loser, what will you do about that?"

 

I feel like Truman, there's no connection between the words I say and the words that come back:

[Andryah]

You know what stuff I actually miss that I haven't seen in a while? Those short stories that kind of tease to the expansion plot. I remember them from I think it was the lead up to Ziost. It may have just been a thing Courtney did but man were they must click material. That'd be one of those community "touches" I'd like to see return. I'd love a road map too but I think that's really unlikely.

 

Yeah, I remember those. I agree they were probably a pet project of Courtneys.

 

I do think Eric needs an additional couple of staff people devoted to driving a more consistent communications flow. I say this because like so many things.... they need a vetting cycle with various parties before disclosing things OR need to actually to talk with the relevant dev and bring back a coherent answer. It's too much for a one person show with some dotted line connections inside the studio. Tait is a producer now, and so we see less of him outside of producer relevant things like "patch incoming".

 

Roadmap.... yep... would love to see one. That said, I was unimpressed with the last time they released what they called a roadmap. Good roadmaps span multiple years, with more detail the closer to the present, and less detail and more things subject to change/deletion as you move farther out. The downside though is tipping your hand to competitors (which can be managed to some degree) and suffering all the armchair critics who will want to school you on the error of your ways on the roadmap. But players do deserve a 5000 ft view of the long term plans for the game and I'm certain they have that but they simply don't have the core competency to properly vett it and present it to players. Players should not have to ask for this.. it should just show up in a timely manner. /not-holding-my-breath-on-this.

Edited September 22, 2016 by Andryah

[Jamtas]

Hopefully the Devs will pop into the GSF forums one day.

 

~ Eudoxia

 

GSF talking to PvP:

 

GSF " I don't what it is. I thought we had something. He built me up like we were gonna be like this huge couple, then no more calls, never stops by. Now it just seems all he wants to do is hang out with Story. Like what am I to him?

 

PvP: "Yeah I know how you feel. He ignored me for a while as well. But hey, look over at operations. She's got it pretty bad too. He promised to take her out and got her old car fixed up so it was running again and then left her and won't respond to calls. She's been super pissy lately. Can't talk to her about anything without him coming up"

[FixerFortyKay]

Yeah. Right now, there's a problem with the game so severe that I'm strongly considering leaving the game over it, I've brought it up numerous times for seven weeks now, had pages and pages of people concur with the problem, and yet to my knowledge no one at BW has heard it, because the only path is here, where your earnest plea is pushed off the front page by a gold farmer and his multiple accounts bumping threads to nerf legitimate players. And in the rare moments when replies do come in, there's no acknowledgment of that - at least raiders know that BW knows they're mad and why, but there's no sign that anyone has read a word about something that breaks the game at so fundamental a level that it makes me want to give up on it. And it's not as if it's a spoiler about KOTET, it's about "your game makes me feel like a helpless, hopeless loser, what will you do about that?"

 

I feel like Truman, there's no connection between the words I say and the words that come back:

 

We do at least know that BioWare reads the forums. At this rate though, I don't expect we'll see any official response until the big announcement on October 7th.

[jimmorrisson]

At least let us discuss the datamined 5.0 class changes that are out there. There is a sizeable group who have issues with the purported changes

[Rolodome]

At least let us discuss the datamined 5.0 changes that are out there. There is a sizeable group who have issues with the purported changes

Pretty sure there's nothing stopping people from discussing on unofficial channels like reddit, in case you aren't aware.

 

They just can't allow it on official channels, probably because letting it be discussed officially is basically the same as endorsing it and then they're getting taken to task for info that wasn't ready to be released anyway.