anet's lack of transparency

#2 - Oct. 11, 2014, 7:26 p.m.

I think this post may be a valuable read: Mike O’Brien on Communication.

I take on board some well-expressed comments here. Quite honestly, I’m not sure how it would work to say “Yes, we’re aware of XYZ.” Those who say “We just want to know you’re aware” are terrific. But we all know that there are others for whom that wouldn’t be satisfactory. “We want to know you’re aware and we want to know what you’re going to do about it” can even become "We want to know you’re aware, we want to know what you’re going to do about it or [insert something here, from “I’m taking a break” to “I’ll never buy another gem,” to “I’m encouraging my entire gazillion-member guild to jump to Game Z].”

Please understand I’m not dismissing the desire for the first level of info, not at all! But can you see how the outcome can be unpredictable and how, no matter the question or request, there is no perfect answer? Further, can you see how “We’re aware of this and we plan to [whatever]” can become “Ok, you said you were aware of it three days ago, where’s the fix?”

I’m sort of writing to think, but I’d like to understand what truly reaches the point of “I’d like more info, but I’m satisfied with what you’ve been able to tell us right now.” Can you give me a few examples, where players would really like to know everything, but where there is a level of disclosure that meets the basic info request?

#49 - Oct. 11, 2014, 9:31 p.m.

Valandil Dragonhart.2371:

Also Gaile, can we please get the forum’s Search function fixed? It’s been broken for nearly 2 years. I know there’s been heaps of topics on this, but the sad irony is that they get lost in the forums and never acted upon.

Thanks for communicating.

I’m not discounting your other comments, and thanks for them. But I have to quote that bit ^ and respond: Yes, Yes, and Yes again! By all that Dwayna holds holy, I truly wish we could get a functional search engine!

It’s no secret that the forum software has some noticeable issues. We don’t have the ability to fix Search, just as we cannot address a few other things we’d like to tackle. I’m really sorry that it can be difficult to efficiently use the forum. Quite honestly, I’m absolutely delighted when I see someone was able to find links to old threads and provide them in current thread. In fact, I often find myself wondering "How long did it take that poor forum member to find those links? )

This is something we’re looking into, and there may be a couple of ways we can address it, even as we examine both short-term and long-term solutions.

#56 - Oct. 11, 2014, 10:08 p.m.

Some of you pointed to the Season 2 image and said it wasn’t enough to excite you about the season. Some said we should use “teasers.” But isn’t that image precisely that? A teaser?

Ok, let’s talk about this on a personal level. Share your thoughts or desires, not what you gauge to be the thoughts or wishes of the whole community.

I’ll start:

I love books. But I never read the slipcover or the back of the book. Why? Because usually it says too bloomin’ much! I don’t want to read something like, “Ingrid takes a vacation in Crete and meets a mysterious stranger who isn’t all he seems to be, which she discovers when checking the lining of his suitcase and finding four passports in four different names all containing (insert imagined gasp here) her new lover’s photograph! What will Ingrid do? What will she do?”

Well, I’d have to read 100 pages to catch up with the whole “phony passport” thing, but during those 100 pages, I’m thinking, “So when is she finding out that Pierre is a scoundrel?” And everything is colored by what I know, and the whole story-telling experience is diminished.

Oh, and I don’t even want to go into the whole “I saw a trailer at a movie, and every good joke and/or pivotal scene in the movie was telegraphed in the trailer.” That’s not good teaser-ing — that’s giving away the store!

A teaser has to be carefully devised — for a book, a movie, a game. I find the portal and the date to be enticing. Others here do as well. It’s ok — your mileage may vary. But I don’t think we (as devs) want to go the way of TMI for upcoming content because that takes away the joy of discovery and the sense of wonder that everyone will experience as they play the new episode.

Again, just a personal opinion, but as you can see, something I have thought about quite a bit!

#57 - Oct. 11, 2014, 10:12 p.m.

Addendum to above: That book I used as an “example” sounded dangerously close to a trashy romance novel. Just wanted to add — lest I lose some credibility with y’all-- that’s decidedly not my genre of choice.

#63 - Oct. 11, 2014, 10:31 p.m.

nightwulf.1986:

On the subject of telling people what’s not being worked on: Super Adventure Box. There goes the hope of telling people that something isn’t being worked on in an exploding cloud of pixellated glory.

But you know we have said, officially, that SAB will return in the future, right? I don’t know that everyone understood that, but yes, it’ll be back. I honestly and truly don’t know when — and even more honestly, I don’t know if the return has been scheduled. However, I heard the “it will be back” from Colin, and I pretty much rely on that guy for knowing what’s what.

#64 - Oct. 11, 2014, 10:32 p.m.

Really good insights on spoilers and anticipation and communication, as well. Thank you all.

#115 - Oct. 12, 2014, 4:01 p.m.

Silent The Gray.3091:

The passion in these posts is very real, I just wish everyone was able to see that it’s an expression of passion and not one of hate as they might first appear

Oh no worries! I know that. We know that. It would be awful to have a player base that was indifferent. Instead, it’s awesome that we have players who feel passion for the game, for more content, for changes, the whole lot.

Some posts are heated. Some are rude. And a few are garbage. But in the end, everyone who is asking for more information cares, and cares deeply, and that’s something we respect and something we’re making directed changes to address.

#116 - Oct. 12, 2014, 4:03 p.m.

Marcus Greythorne.6843:

I really love what they do with the CDIs and I’m an active contributer there (it’s really fun and constructive nowadays) ~snip~

I can’t emphasize enough how helpful the CDIs are for us, and how much we value the input everyone provides. Please stayed involved — or get involved! — and share your thoughts — they really do make a difference.

#134 - Oct. 12, 2014, 6:25 p.m.

Thank you for finding those links, Robert. It’s helpful for everyone to see real resources, and those who missed them (or forgot about them) may enjoy reading them.

#191 - Oct. 15, 2014, 6:39 p.m.

Berk.8561:

And that’s probably exactly why they’ve stopped talking about anything that’s not almost ready to be deployed, because anything they say that they are working on or intend on implementing with generate type and players will care about it a lot and they’ll get angry if it never happens or doesn’t happen for a long time.

Yes, that’s definitely true. As Mike O’Brien said in a recent post, “We’ve set a clear policy in the past year: we don’t talk speculatively about future development. We don’t want to string you along. Creating fun is an uncertain business: sometimes things work out and sometimes they don’t; sometimes we go back to the drawing board over and over before we get something right. If we make optimistic promises and then can’t deliver on them, everyone suffers. So when we attend a trade show or give an interview, we’re there to talk about what we’re getting ready to ship, not to speculate on what we might ship someday.”

We truly understand the interest that our loyal players have in knowing more, but we’re not able to share too much at this juncture for the reasons that are stated above and outlined in more detail in Mike’s post.

Rest assured — and my daily e-mails confirm this — the devs are reading the forums daily to keep abreast of your input on a wide variety of game elements, in addition to which they’re analyzing, prioritizing, weighing whether to and how to address areas of concern, considering how to implement positive changes, and much more, based on the input you give us on the forums.

As Mike also said in his post, much value has come through the CDI’s. I just prowled the hallways to see if I could find out more about the timeline for the current and future CDI. Alas, Chris Whiteside is in a meeting, but I know he’s committed to the format so I hope you’ll be involved in those and if there are some dates he or I can provide one of us will do that later.

#272 - Oct. 17, 2014, 1:35 p.m.

Inculpatus cedo.9234:

Well, new Profession balance information is coming this Friday, and they are taking feedback on those proposed changes, and will use it to adjust them….so, there’s that. =)

Thanks for noticing. Coming up in minutes.

MFoy.3284:

~snip~ Although I notice Gaile hasn’t posted in the last few pages I’d guess the thread is getting read at some level.

Yes, every word. A few comments probably could use pruning because they’re really not contributing, but I think a light hand is ok, and am trusting we can have this discussion with narry a torch or pitchfork in sight!

Oh btw, MFoy, I think your post had a light of insight. Thank you for that.

Rauderi — People respond in different ways to unpleasantness. I don’t believe “hide in the shadows” is accurate — our devs are not prone to hiding — but in a general sense yes, some people would hesitate to dive into a situation if they thought they’d be met with a lot of hostility. Let me offer up yet another Patented Silly Analogy™:
Comment — “Hey, I’m serving cake.”
Responses — “Thanks.” but then… “WTH, no ice cream?” “But I wanted chocolate cake and you’re offering spice cake.” “You suck, I wanted a full dinner!” “How about those cookies you promised us last month?” And, basically, “Yeah, there’s a lot of cake, and it’s great, and a lot of people are liking it, but what about my needs?”
Again, I’m not discounting a single dissenting point of view, here or anywhere else. Not one. But it crossed my mind how things could be seen, from an observer’s point of view.

Korossive — you don’t consider Living World to be a fulfillment of the “evolving dynamics and development?” I do — in spades!

joe — Interesting point of view, thanks for sharing that.

#276 - Oct. 17, 2014, 2:08 p.m.

wwwes.1398:

I do hope my messages aren’t among the ones that need to be pruned. I try to keep things on an even keel,, civil and understanding, even though I am impassioned by nature.

But the company’s policy is unacceptable, it is untenable in the long run, and it is directly responsible for a great deal of player ennui.

I respect your efforts to keep things civil. In fact, I applaud them, because I know how challenging that effort can be in the face of situations about which one is emotional.

I take on board your thoughts about the company’s policy, and I know you’d like something different, as would others. However, I feel that Mike O’Brien explained the why’s and wherefore’s of the policy, even while he also implemented changes that would improve communication.

Case in point: A Forum Communications Team, with members in all four supported languages. Not that I believe my team is the be-all and end-all, for I fully understand that some would prefer to communicate with devs who are dedicated to talking about the game on a regular, even daily basis. But I’m not sure where the real cap is on “this isn’t enough” and “this is just right” and I think it may be a moving target when you’re talking about a large group of diverse people with different viewpoints and priorities.

At the present time, I hope that the devs who are actively communicating are valued for what they’re doing. Beyond that, I feel sure forum members who look at the subject objectively would agree that it would be an error in judgment to assign devs to expend a lot of time writing forum or blog posts when their primary focus should be on developing the game.

Some communication from devs is great, and we’ll continue to see how we can make more of that happen. Yes — I hope we can get more, I really do. In return, players should continue to tell us their particular points of concern or focus, so that when we do have dev interaction, we can try to hone in on meaningful topics.

Thanks for reading.