test content
Logo
What is the Arc Client?
Install Arc
More Communication From Cryptic Please
arimikami
Posts: 475 Arc User
Really. That's it.
Right now you've got an influx of customers that have very little faith in the stability of the games they play thanks to the way the last game they were playing being closed for not being profitable enough. Key word there is enough. The companies in the industry are showing that really, it's not even about being profitable anymore. They have to make a LOT of profit or they'll shut games down without warning.
This results in a very little confidence in the stability of the games people play and rather than trying to do something that shows these incoming players that Cryptic isn't going to yank the rug out from under it's players, they turtle up. Communication grinds to a halt, assuming there ever was any to begin with, and they yank the developers from this game to put on other projects. To some people, it lends the impression that CO has been abandoned and some communication to the players from Cryptic would go a long way to reversing that.
I think most people here can agree that players can kind of be asses to developers at times so, really, I wouldn't expect them to sit down and have long dialogues with players but, even if all it is is a post each Monday morning from one developer working on CO going, "Hi, Champions. We're going to be focusing on _____ this week.", and then locking the thread so they don't have to deal with players raging that they're not working on something that particular player feels is more important, I think it would increase player confidence in the devs. They'd actually have something they could point at and go, "See? We're not being left on life support or just being fed whatever stuff they can come up with to try and sell to make another quick buck off us." It'd only take someone a minute or two to make a post like that so, I don't see how it would hinder the devs and it would probably do wonders for the community.
Is that too much to ask?
Right now you've got an influx of customers that have very little faith in the stability of the games they play thanks to the way the last game they were playing being closed for not being profitable enough. Key word there is enough. The companies in the industry are showing that really, it's not even about being profitable anymore. They have to make a LOT of profit or they'll shut games down without warning.
This results in a very little confidence in the stability of the games people play and rather than trying to do something that shows these incoming players that Cryptic isn't going to yank the rug out from under it's players, they turtle up. Communication grinds to a halt, assuming there ever was any to begin with, and they yank the developers from this game to put on other projects. To some people, it lends the impression that CO has been abandoned and some communication to the players from Cryptic would go a long way to reversing that.
I think most people here can agree that players can kind of be asses to developers at times so, really, I wouldn't expect them to sit down and have long dialogues with players but, even if all it is is a post each Monday morning from one developer working on CO going, "Hi, Champions. We're going to be focusing on _____ this week.", and then locking the thread so they don't have to deal with players raging that they're not working on something that particular player feels is more important, I think it would increase player confidence in the devs. They'd actually have something they could point at and go, "See? We're not being left on life support or just being fed whatever stuff they can come up with to try and sell to make another quick buck off us." It'd only take someone a minute or two to make a post like that so, I don't see how it would hinder the devs and it would probably do wonders for the community.
Is that too much to ask?
Post edited by arimikami on
0
Comments
Trailturtle is doing what he can to fill the communication void but he's the CM for two games so I don't expect him to be around here all the time. He's also self-admittedly out of the loop when it comes to most things Champions.
Right now it's... *solitary cricket chirping in an empty parking lot at night*
Consolidate the currencies! (Please!)
Does your Champion have a theme song? (share it!)
Got a funny in-game screenshot? (share it!)
Please fix the Overdrive energy unlock! (Should help promote thematic build diversity!)
And playing by myself since Aug 2009
Godtier: Lifetime Subscriber
Let's put it simple...
Some of us lost a home already, and we are not willing to let our chosen new home go the same way.
Wait a sec, I'm on the CO boards, not STO...
Disregard my first statement...
/sign the OP...
M-O-O-N, that spells @Rhyatt
Originally Posted by mijjestic: Ultimately, though, MMO players throwing stones at each other in this fashion is basically one nerd pointing and laughing at another nerd whose glasses are thicker.
Laws yes!
They are obviously observing the rule of "If you have nothing nice to say, say nothing". Fact is they have nothing nice to say.
They had only Splosions and Gentleman Crush on powers updates and lost Tumerboy to NeverWinter. They were caught with their pants down with the announcement that Paragon was being shut down.
Now their biggest chance for a cash cow is more like a mule/donkey.
In simpler terms.. "He's not that into you"
If only it was that simple, I can even bet that inside Cryptic office they would dream and love to be that simple... :rolleyes:
I don't think a full report is needed. It's time consuming to write that all out and requires they sit down and have meetings, talk over what they are and aren't going to do in the future and blah blah blah.
I think it'd be enough for them to say something as simple as, "Hi. This week we're going to be trying to fix the some of the bugs in the game. Talk with ya next week."
Takes very little time away from their work, lets players know what the devs view as the important matters, and breaks the wall of silence.
I have no idea how the internal politics of a game development studio works, but I don't think forcing them to get together to discuss the future of the game is such a bad thing. ;P I don't know how often they have them, probably every week (if not day), and things are probably extremely stressful... but I think keeping the long term future in mind and effectively communicating it, does justice to the game and to us on the whole. It gives us things to look forward to. When Robobo left, he was setting up the game to have a level cap raise and a new zone within the long term. Where has that goal gone now that he's been repositioned?
I know it takes away Dev time and that they're busy, but this sort of communication is what set Champs a part in the first place. It's what made me fall in love with Champs, because they cared.
I say stuff and I say things, sometimes together but only when I'm feeling adventurous.
I'm @blu8 in game!
Reality sucks, but remember that we had high hopes for Free to Play and that didn't exactly have the long term effect we wanted. The powers that be either lack or aren't willing to dedicate the time, effort and money needed to get this game some traction.
...I just recently realized something really disturbing. We're all eating Sodapop3's "humble pie."
Pretty much. They've got a good sized influx of players. Hundreds at the least if not more and aside from being greeted in game by Turtle and a double XP weekend after CoX closed, they haven't really done anything to entice those players to this game. Those players aren't just going to swarm in and dump tons of money on CO simply because it's a hero themed game. Not after the way they were treated recently. They want to know that CO isn't going to suck up all their money and then kick them to the curb.
I don't think it's a bad thing either. I thin cross communication between the players and devs is important in any MMO but... baby steps.
Get them to give us occasional updates on what they're currently working on first. Then start asking for info about long term plans.
This 100%.
They should have been sitting down and having meetings to decide how to best advantage CoH's closing the very day it was announced and here's the important part... letting us know. Instead they start yanking devs off this game to work on other projects, shut down almost all communcation, and start pushing cash grab items at us. Given recent history, that's not going to get many of their new players to stick around and will in fact drive many of them away and these are people that can be very loyal to the games they play. You can't buy that kind of customer through putting lockboxes in your games or trinkets in your item shop. You get it by showing you care as much about them enjoying your product as you do about their wallets.
From what I understand, Cryptic is under some sort of obligation to finish NWO within a certain amount of time and is acting on orders from their overloards at PWE to get it done. This can be forgiven. The complete lack of communication and that some of those devs were pulled to work on STO can't. Not really. Not by me at least.
IMO, CO is the best game in its genre. It could easily become the flagship for the genre and for the company. As long as it's continued to be percieved to be llargely abandoned by its creators and usefull only for sucking up some extra money to fund other projects, it won't be.
We're playing a game where people can live out their fantasies of being super heroes. If we can't dare to dream then what can we do?
The thing that bugs me is with Robobobobo... we had relatively frequent communication. One month was State of the Game, the next month would be Ask Cryptic (not fluffed over either, honest answers.) Shortly before his repositioning, they got really busy and it fell to the back burner for On Alert. Then he got repositioned, Brad took over and realized one really bad fluff Ask Cryptic... and then here we are with little to no communication. I'm really hoping things can turn around
But as you say, baby steps!
I say stuff and I say things, sometimes together but only when I'm feeling adventurous.
I'm @blu8 in game!
Scruffy only comes out of the basement to bang on the pipes and makes sure the hamster running the game isn't dead. Scruffy's done for the day. He ain't in a chatting mood.
Wait? Whaaaa..?
But I got Scruffy pancakes
I say stuff and I say things, sometimes together but only when I'm feeling adventurous.
I'm @blu8 in game!
Then maybe it's time for the players to rattle those same pipes and make enough noise that Scruffy comes out to ask what the hell we think we're doin.
The demise of COH/COX/COV whatever is like so many deaths badly timed... If only we coulda had some notice then we could have coordinated the demise of COX with the return of CO devs from Neverwinter and with a little time prepared the game a little better for an influx of new players.
As a footnote I would be interested in the details of any Non disclosure agreement(s) that a game dev might (or might not) be required to sign. If such NDA's do exist (and I don't know if they do) then it may restrict what a dev may or may not be able to say on a Public forum. Just curious maybe John Sills would know about these things.
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
The one who can't shut up formerly known as 4rksakes
About the @handle - it's a long story.
Profound quote.. "I'm not a complete idiot - several parts are missing."
Wait? Whaaaa..?
If Scruffy thinks it's a good idea to yank employees from one area to work on another and stop communications at a time when they can be fairly sure that they're going to be recieving a large influx of potentially paying customers to that area they're pulling people from?
Yeah... Scruffy wouldn't be a fool. Much stronger words would more accurately describe Scruffy.
Scruffy: Majority Stockholder.
I'm not privy to commercial NDAs; my work was covered by being classified TS-ESI, NATO Cosmic Top Secret ATOMAL, and SIOP Cat 9, so if I spoke out of turn about it we were talking serious jail time. (Fortunately, all the data I dealt with are now 20+ years out of date.) I don't think PWE/Cryptic's NDA is quite that unforgiving - they probably just have to worry about getting fired.
- David Brin, "Those Eyes"
Get the Forums Enhancement Extension!
I can completely understand NDAs and not wanting to give out too much info but, like I've been saying in this thread, I don't think it's too much for a dev to take a couple minutes each week to say that they're looking at bug fixes, power revamps, or whatever.
It'd give us the players an idea of what they consider the priorities and clue us in on what to expect in the future as well as boost the morale of players that may end up leaving due to thinking this game is being abandoned by it's creators.
I been a long time leaving but I'm going to be a long time gone.
Willie Nelson
T.U.F.K.A.S. (the user formerly known as Scarlyng)
Wrong on the CO forums since November, 2008
While i Don't trust a lot of what is said, it would be nice to get things like regular updates in terms of the until reports, upcoming content, and even polls to see what the players want. It would really be nice if this were a community of devs and players again, and not just "the Vocal minority" as Cryptic calls it.
It's along the same lines of the beleaguered husband who, being subject to inquisition by his jealous wife again, responds, "What would you like me to say? What is it you want to hear?"
If you're not going to believe them, there's little point in their explaining anything to you...
- David Brin, "Those Eyes"
Get the Forums Enhancement Extension!
I am willing to offer them a chance to earn my trust. At no point have I said that I don't believe them. I haven't been around long enough to even try to call them on any falsehoods seeing as they've said pretty much nothing for the entire duration I've been here.
As far as what I'd like them to say goes...
Anything. Let us know what's going on. Even if we don't like what they're doing, it'd at least let us know what's happening and give us an opportunity to explain why we don't like it so some sort of compromise can attempted to be reached.
Through the holidays we're just going to get a slightly altered event similar to prior years. I suppose the 'second phase' of vehicles is on a similar timetable. And perhaps they're working on 'the next big thing' to some degree, but we aren't going to see much noise on it until next year.
I'd love to hear new devs being brought in, but what are the odds?
If newcomers from CoX or wherever want to dabble their toes in these waters, ultimately they can and still play the game. Play without a sub, buy here and there. Minimize commitment. If you can't, well, just jump in and know the gamble for what it is and what it always will be with niche markets and probably any given online game. These pools don't have their depths labeled, you just have to dive and see.
They're not specifically explaining it to any one individual though, and some of us ( despite repeated evidence that we maybe shouldn't ) continue to believe what they tell us.
Champions Online: Be the hero you wish you could be in a better game.
For me, part of it is player morale. Knowing what the devs are doing from one week to the next would let us know they're doing something even if it's not what we want them to consider priority.
Now that is funny.
'Caine, miss you bud. Fly high.
But we can see what the staff assigned to CO are doing. They tend to update the test server on a semi-regular basis.
In addition, Trailturtle (the Jade Dynasty CRM) tries to spend time with us so that we don't feel quite so lonely as we don't have a CRM of our own. (We aren't making them enough money to be worth the cost of giving us a dedicated CRM of our own.)
I'm not sure what a CO-Dev blog would bring to the table that wouldn't result in extra helpings of player-rage, one way or another ...
There is no such thing as a free lunch. If you aren't paying for it, you aren't the customer; you are the product being sold.
Dollar, dollar, bill, yo. Cash rules everything around you and me.
The kind that sometimes pop into a costume thread and say "Wow great designs people I really enjoy this one" or just "Can't talk about this, but get ready for some shocks here and there"
Anything. Hell a player summit would do wonders for the relationships once more devs are destiend to CO (IF that happens... which I hope it will)
We had a dev that behaved exactly as you describe (even more so !).
He would give the occasional heads up. He gave insight into the processes behind game development. He joked with us. He complimented player ingenuity and creativity. He was pretty much the best thing these forums have ever seen...
They transferred Tumerboy to STO.
'Caine, miss you bud. Fly high.
Paragon was very different than Cryptic was and is, I agree. Paragon came across as honestly caring about keeping their players happy, less "vision" and more "play with us" (and I loved Paragon for being that way).
The few staff we've had here that try to do that kind of thing are moved to a different project.
I suspect this has made an impression on the remaining staff.
There is no such thing as a free lunch. If you aren't paying for it, you aren't the customer; you are the product being sold.
Dollar, dollar, bill, yo. Cash rules everything around you and me.
He's very active over there too. And shows the patience of a saint with all the wharrgarble he gets sometimes.
Wait? Whaaaa..?
To me anyway when he was moved, that was the big Game Over CO. I'll never lose hope tho, not until the game closes.
They CAN turn the game around, it's just they dont bloody want to! And thats saaad.
and then we know why there are so many bugs in-game...
We need more devs too but, that's a topic for another thread.
Back to the topic :
From the outside, Champs looks like a major superhero themed mmo but that is mainly because of the lack of competitors, while inside a player quickly see that Champs is developped by a small team.
I think that is where communication can be very decisive :
The longevity of a game depends usually on either a playerbase loyalty or on the quantity of players.
Here, it seems rather obvious that they should work on a playerbase loyalty and this is where I don't understand why they gave up on communication.
It only reinforces the bitterness and the weakness of the playerbase loyalty.
Couldn't agree more.
This game doesn't have enough to draw in mass amounts of players.
Unfortunately, it doesn't really do much to inspire loyalty among the players it currently has either.
Like I said earlier, it's a matter of morale. If the devs were to have an actual dialogue with the players, or let us know what's going on at the very least, it would go a ways towards encouraging the players to give this game and Cryptic some loyalty.
This much I can say is 100% absolutely true. Taking an example from TSW, another game that I am also lifetime subbed to. I posted a thread with a question about a feature in development, and it's current progress. I had the game director replying to my thread, outlining exactly where they were in development.
He replied within 5 minutes of me posting the thread. And it happens all the time there. This kind of stuff really really makes players happy, and makes them much more confident about the money they are spending.
On that note, maybe the reason we get no feedback is there's no direction or anything really planned for the game?
its possible, though Absolutely no communication will lead to all but the most loyal leaving. So they are not doing themselves any favors.
Champions Online: Be the hero you wish you could be in a better game.