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Why Is GM Support Criticism Not Allowed?

SystemSystem Member, NoReporting Posts: 178,019 Arc User
Recently I've seen two or three quite large threads with members writing down serious complaints about the quality of the GM support in Star Trek Online. All the threads have either vanished meowsteriously, or they have been locked down. Now please let me say my two energy credits on this issue.

If you keep deleting, locking and banning the threads, there will always be new ones. Instead, it would be more wise to keep one topic open and actually give replies to the well-reasoned posts. I've seen people posting in those threads that have been around for a long time, even life-time subscribers. Please listen to those people instead of shutting them up.

I'm no troll, I'm not using the support ticket system at all anymore, because earlier on I knew I wouldn't get any useful replies. Right now I can't judge how the system is due to not having used it for quite some time. I don't want to bash Cryptic nor Star Trek Online, butt it would be kind of the admins to have an open ear to constructive criticism.

So, I'd like to give my fellow members a chance to put in SERIOUS and CONSTRUCTIVE feedback on how to improve the GM support and the Bug Report system.

:: In which parts could the GM team improve to be of better service to the players?
:: Your bug report is getting ignored for weeks, or you just get an unsatisfactory response? When did that happen?
:: Are you using the bug forum section? Do you feel less ignored there?


Let's work together to improve the game, let's not troll etc. which will meowst likely result in immeowdiate closure of this thread, and I don't want that, because it's my thread.

~ Eris The Vorta
Post edited by Unknown User on

Comments

  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited December 2010
    Would you want me or anybody else in these forums telling you how horrible a job you where doing? Sometimes in extremely vulgar ways?
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited December 2010
    Your thread starts off talking about other threads that were closed: a violation of the "don't talk about forum moderation" rule. It doesn't matter what the rest of the posts says because the first half is going to get this thread closed when the Devs get back from holiday.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited December 2010
    They do apprieciate criticsm though, when given in a polite non-vulgar manner without malice or intent thereof.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited December 2010
    I am guessing that because the support section help has gone the way of a general Atari support rather than being specifically run by Cryptic that GM help is probably much the same. It is only an assumption but It seems to me this should be addressed to Atari, not Cryptic.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited December 2010
    Typical of Cryptic and their forums - if they don't like it, they close the thread mid-discussion. It is why they have such a bad reputation on other forums around the web and why so many people avoid their games.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited December 2010
    :: In which parts could the GM team improve to be of better service to the players?

    In all honesty, they could improve by providing actual support. The GM support from Cryptic/Atari is the worst I've seen in any MMO. I don't bother asking for help with anything, as not asking gets you the same result but wastes less of your time in getting that result. But worth noting, by GM support I mean the use of the in-game petition system.
    :: Your bug report is getting ignored for weeks, or you just get an unsatisfactory response? When did that happen?

    Yes, a lot of bugs get ignored.

    And a lot of things should never have made it to live, things like Continue being misspelled in a mission. You know that had to have been bugged in Tribble. And probably by Cryptic's internal testing. So how did it make it to live? And why is it still on live? Should be a simple, easy fix.

    That said, I'm sure there's a lot of things that Cryptic's team would like to fix. But I don't think they have the manpower allocation for it. To turn their people loose on a major bug hunt means things like the Foundry don't get done as soon.

    And even what they do add at times isn't what it should be. Take the new UI changes, for example. The stars are still tinted the sector color. Blue stars in fed space, red in Klingon, green in Borg. Minimizing the planet pop ups doesn't get saved, have to do it each time. Cannot double click to hail and finish a mission, though it works fine for picking up missions. No separate tab for completed missions. For many new features that get added, it is pretty simple to come up with a list of things like that, some bugs, some improvements to it that would take it to the next level.

    It is like they hit a point where it was good enough, so it got shipped, so they can work on the next thing. A lot of that stuff just doesn't truly get finished.

    Does mean they get on to the next area that needs lots of improving sooner, but at the same time, drives home the point that the game isn't near finished yet.
    :: Are you using the bug forum section? Do you feel less ignored there?

    Feel less ignored, yeah, because other players respond. And if it is a big bug, a dev might as well. So you know the dev team at least somewhat keep an eye on the forum. Overall though, I bug things in game. And if I think it is a worthwhile bug, I'll post as well.
    Let's work together to improve the game, let's not troll etc. which will meowst likely result in immeowdiate closure of this thread, and I don't want that, because it's my thread.

    Unfortunately, I don't think there's much that can be done about it right now.

    Customer support is most likely handled by Atari. Which means it is unlikely to improve. And if they were to wrangle more resources out of Atari, I'd rather they were dev than support. Game needs that even more.

    I do think about a month spent by the Cryptic team polishing and bug fixing would be time well spent however. Maybe after they get the Foundry to a reasonable state (by my definition, which I won't go into here :) ), it'd be something they should do. The Foundry should provide a nice new toy to keep players busy. And fixing a lot of things up would help improve the feel of the game a lot.

    Speaking from experience, it is sort of like having warnings in code as well. If you keep it clear, then when you get one, it stands out and you can right track it down and deal with it. Let a ton exist though and new ones get lost in the midst of it all. And besides, what's one more? The same thing applies to bugs. When you only have a few, you are much more likely to make sure to reduce that number even further. But when you've got a ton, well, one or two more or less doesn't really make a difference.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited December 2010
    Typical of Cryptic and their forums - if they don't like it, they close the thread mid-discussion. It is why they have such a bad reputation on other forums around the web and why so many people avoid their games.

    ALL MMO companies does this and it's not just something Cryptic does.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited December 2010
    Honestly, I wouldn't like to get publicly bashed either. That's why I've opened this thread. It's not the intention of this thread to bash someone or a group of people. It's the intention of my thread to point out the flaws and work on a way to eliminate the flaws and to encourage the developers and support staff to work a different way to reach more people in shorter time, and to improve individuality (instead of automatic-generated responses).

    Cryptic really seems to have not enuff purrsonnel to handle all subjects, and that's sumfin they can't change immeowdiately. We need their brains to have our game improved, butt who is stopping us from giving them advice how to interact with us? They might even think: "If someone really can help us improve stuff by a simple ****ribution (like a nice post with tips and tricks etc.), why shouldn't we use those informations to improve ourselves?"

    Meowst of us are Trekkies and Trekkers, sum of us are roleplayers and mmo'ers. We can make the game better together, we can be Cryptic's 12th man in a matter of squeaking (12th man as in a soccer team, hehe). :)

    ~ Eris The Vorta
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited December 2010
    Y'all do realize that a bug report is not even remotely close or has anything to do with a petition or a request for help? Bug reports go into a cue or bin to be counted and addressed in order of the number of a particular bug reported. Bugs are not a request for help. They are more like offering help to the devs.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited December 2010
    Typical of Cryptic and their forums - if they don't like it, they close the thread mid-discussion. It is why they have such a bad reputation on other forums around the web and why so many people avoid their games.

    Your world view is quite precious, I just want to give you a hug.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited December 2010
    Ayenn wrote:
    Y'all do realize that a bug report is not even remotely close or has anything to do with a petition or a request for help? Bug reports go into a cue or bin to be counted and addressed in order of the number of a particular bug reported. Bugs are not a request for help. They are more like offering help to the devs.

    Meow, I know. It wasn't only about bug repurrts, it was also about help requests of course. :)
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited December 2010
    If anything this thread will be locked only because of the over usage of the word meow............

    other than that i say WOOF
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited December 2010
    If you keep deleting, locking and banning the threads, there will always be new ones. Instead, it would be more wise to keep one topic open and actually give replies to the well-reasoned posts. I've seen people posting in those threads that have been around for a long time, even life-time subscribers. Please listen to those people instead of shutting them up.

    the problem is you leave one thread open, then it turns into an argument and some nasty comments start getting put in, so they are forced to close it. then they leave another open and the same thing happens.

    no i believe they should close them all down. its still their forum and their rules. we are just guests here.

    if someone has a problem then write them a personal letter/email/pm or whatever and let them know. if you have a complaint about the customer service then you dont really need the whole world commenting on it too.

    people also assume that they dont read the thread. if someone posts a complaint and the thread gets closed, the person who has closed the thread (normally stormshade) has still read the thread and heard what the person has to say and im sure will pass the important feedback onto the relevant people.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited December 2010
    I'm all up for criticism, but only when its constructive. The ways and means i've seen by some people on this forum does leave a hell of a lot to be desired.
    I've had no problems with in-game GM's. I'm under the assumption that some people expect bells and whistles and the world to stop while they get treated like royalty. When reporting a bug, that is simply what you are doing. I don't expect a picnic hamper and a discussion upon doing so each time i find an issue. Providing these things get fixed in due course, i'm happy and thats all there is to it.
    For instance. The problem many of us are having with Cold Case. When i reported this, i received a message back within 10 minutes. I wasn't under the illusion that a GM was going to change the Source Code and it would be fixed with a simple click of the fingers. I've taken into account the time of year as well, and i do expect Cryptic will have this finally addressed within a few weeks time, now that the festive season is coming to a close. I do wish people would have a little more patience, but as i get older in life, the less respect i see others having in everything around them. Its a sorry state of affairs when you believe the world does and should revolve around you.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited December 2010
    Meow, that's true, Green. I didn't expect a fix for Cold Case anytime soon, so I'm not even trying to play it anyway. =D

    I just hope the new font from tribble will come to holodeck in January and the AGT uniforms and those impurrtant bugfixes from some missions. Then I'm already happy. :D
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited December 2010
    Recently I've seen two or three quite large threads with members writing down serious complaints about the quality of the GM support in Star Trek Online. All the threads have either vanished meowsteriously, or they have been locked down. Now please let me say my two energy credits on this issue.

    If you keep deleting, locking and banning the threads, there will always be new ones. Instead, it would be more wise to keep one topic open and actually give replies to the well-reasoned posts. I've seen people posting in those threads that have been around for a long time, even life-time subscribers. Please listen to those people instead of shutting them up.

    I'm no troll, I'm not using the support ticket system at all anymore, because earlier on I knew I wouldn't get any useful replies. Right now I can't judge how the system is due to not having used it for quite some time. I don't want to bash Cryptic nor Star Trek Online, butt it would be kind of the admins to have an open ear to constructive criticism.

    So, I'd like to give my fellow members a chance to put in SERIOUS and CONSTRUCTIVE feedback on how to improve the GM support and the Bug Report system.

    :: In which parts could the GM team improve to be of better service to the players?
    :: Your bug report is getting ignored for weeks, or you just get an unsatisfactory response? When did that happen?
    :: Are you using the bug forum section? Do you feel less ignored there?


    Let's work together to improve the game, let's not troll etc. which will meowst likely result in immeowdiate closure of this thread, and I don't want that, because it's my thread.

    ~ Eris The Vorta

    Because the truth hurts.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited December 2010
    They foot the bill for the forums, ergo it's their rules.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited December 2010
    And we pay the game, most of us monthly, some of us in the beginning for lifetime. Of course it's not our forum, butt we should have the right to suggest things and to ****ribute with reasonable criticism and of course also with positive feedback.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited December 2010
    I agree, but it just boils down to 'Their forums, their rules.' I mean let's face it. If you can help it, are you going to leave disparaging comments up on a public forum about yourself or perhaps your own business? For us, this is just a hobby, a past time. For these folks it's a way of life. Of course they aren't going to keep negative remarks about them out in the open for potential customers to see. It could cost them money.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited December 2010
    Typical of Cryptic and their forums - if they don't like it, they close the thread mid-discussion. It is why they have such a bad reputation on other forums around the web and why so many people avoid their games.

    Yep, unlike Blizzard; who not onlycloses the thread, but nukes it from their forums as if it never existed. You can call Cryptic out on a lot of things, but unlike Blizzard, SOE or CCP, they don't act like the thread never existed; they close it, but leave it up - so, if you really have an axe to grind, you can link back to it.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited December 2010
    Meow, that's true, Green. I didn't expect a fix for Cold Case anytime soon, so I'm not even trying to play it anyway. =D

    I just hope the new font from tribble will come to holodeck in January and the AGT uniforms and those impurrtant bugfixes from some missions. Then I'm already happy. :D

    I agree with everything but the new font...


    ...I'm too old and it's TOO SMALL.... :eek:
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited December 2010
    Butt you could finally make a difference between "a" and "o", hehe. About the losing munny thing when you leave negative cumments open: If those are constructive, they might think the opposite and think Cryptic is brave for handling criticism well. :)
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited December 2010
    Typical of Cryptic and their forums - if they don't like it, they close the thread mid-discussion. It is why they have such a bad reputation on other forums around the web and why so many people avoid their games.

    What a load of garbage. The Devs have been about as forth coming and involved with the community as much as any reasonable person could expect. If I was getting insulted and barraged with unreasonable requests from kids that can't even drive yet, I'd shut them up too. Perfectly reasonable. Be respectful and reasonable and the Cryptic team will take you seriously and respond to concerns and questions. Act like an idiot and you'll get treated as such. Seems fair to me.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited December 2010
    tyler42 wrote: »
    What a load of garbage. The Devs have been about as forth coming and involved with the community as much as any reasonable person could expect. If I was getting insulted and barraged with unreasonable requests from kids that can't even drive yet, I'd shut them up too. Perfectly reasonable. Be respectful and reasonable and the Cryptic team will take you seriously and respond to concerns and questions. Act like an idiot and you'll get treated as such. Seems fair to me.

    what he said. on my list with most active on forums Crytpic is #1 same with my list on who is listening and giving the players what they want.
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