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As a player, I am concerned.

livinlifejb90#4082 livinlifejb90 Member Posts: 218 Arc User
So I'm sure we've all noticed that things seem...wonky, at best. Something either just isn't right at Cryptic or not right with STO specifically. And what I mean is...quality and tbh, questionable decisions being made.

Lets take for example the blog posts and the launcher. There is now an established pattern of blog posts just not being proof read and copy/pasted, and thus being published with errors a 10 year old would notice. The launcher has incorrect dates for events. Not only is this just unprofessional. It makes the game seem tacky. Like its some indy game where no one really cares about its image.

This is concerning because it comes off as half assed, and it looks the part. Kael is a community manager. We have no idea what that job description actually entails, but maybe someone who has himself said he's "spread too thin" shouldn't be in charge of detail oriented things?

The Dilithium exchange. A key part of this game's economy has completely broken. And many players have pointed this out and offered possible solutions. IDK about y'all, but when a game's in game economy breaks, that is usually a BAD sign for the health of the game. Now pair that with the devs seemingly not caring about fixing it. This is something that could really decrease the player base, and thus shorten the lifespan of the game itself. Which you would think would be a high priority for the team, but does not seem to be. but yet, oh a new lockbox ship! (seriously does Cryptic have a gambling license? idk thats a different discussion)

Yes, I know they are "looking into it" (tm), but they don't see overly concerned. AND, they put the same guy who can't proof read blog posts, in charge of exploring solutions for a problem the whole team should be figuring out.

To me it just seems like the devs themselves are either burnt out, leading to what feels like apathy and poorly thought out choices from them. Or they are starting to check out of developing this game. I do not get the feeling as a long time player, that this game is cared for anymore. That its a zombie of its former self kept going to just farm cash from us.

If there is something going on, something that could affect future player investment in this game, I think we have a right to know. Because something is very off and its palpable.

These are just my concerns. Things that I have noticed and observed myself. I'm not here to argue with anyone about this, but you are free to do that amongst yourselves if you wish.
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Comments

  • seaofsorrowsseaofsorrows Member Posts: 10,918 Arc User
    edited August 2021
    coldnapalm wrote: »
    This game is not cared about anymore...and hasn't been for YEARS. To be fair, this was an issue BEFORE Kael...but he most certainly is not helping the matter. In fact, he is probably the one that is accelerating the issue way more as he stands between us and the devs understanding just how bad EVERYTHING has been getting. It was bad before Kael...it has accelerated much...MUCH worse since he was the one between us and the devs. They severely underestimated how much damage a bad CM could do. And Kael is by far the worst this game has had since I started playing.

    I could really go off on a rant, but I am just going to say 'agreed' and leave it at that.
    Insert witty signature line here.
  • meimeitoomeimeitoo Member Posts: 12,587 Arc User
    edited August 2021
    coldnapalm wrote: »
    They severely underestimated how much damage a bad CM could do. And Kael is by far the worst this game has had since I started playing.


    He really is. And that's sad. And it's not personal, btw. He gets paid to inform us properly. It's literally his job. As Sea said, we actually don't know the full extent of Kael's job, but I do know this never - or very rarely -- happened when Trendy was still running things.

    Thing is, I hate asking in channel (or here) for the correct information all the time: the blogs/launcher notes should be sufficiently reliable to not have to be considered a useless source of information. And even if it isn't all Kael, SOMEONE at Cryptic should take notice, and step up their accuracy. To err is human, to have it constantly wrong is a sign of someone needing a new CM.
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  • meimeitoomeimeitoo Member Posts: 12,587 Arc User
    reyan01 wrote: »
    meimeitoo wrote: »
    coldnapalm wrote: »
    They severely underestimated how much damage a bad CM could do. And Kael is by far the worst this game has had since I started playing.


    He really is. And that's sad. And it's not personal, btw. He gets paid to inform us properly. It's literally his job. As Sea said, we actually don't know the full extent of Kael's job, but I do know this never - or very rarely -- happened when Trendy was still running things.

    Thing is, I hate asking in channel (or here) for the correct information all the time: the blogs/launcher notes should be sufficiently reliable to not have to be considered a useless source of information. And even if it isn't all Kael, SOMEONE at Cryptic should take notice, and step up their accuracy. To err is human, to have it constantly wrong is a sign of someone needing a new CM.
    Trendy actually outlined the CM role once:
    "A Conversation with LaughingTrendy – Insights on Her Role As Community Manager"
    https://lootcritter.com/2016/07/24/a-conversation-with-laughingtrendy-insights-on-her-role-as-community-manager/


    "Trendy: This question is the best question ever and Morrigan loves it"

    Hahaha! :) Gotta love Trendy! Definitely, her fun isn't wrong.

    N.B. Thanks for the link.
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  • captainwellscaptainwells Member Posts: 718 Arc User
    I don't track these things as closely as you folks, but to me their predilection for dropping so many ridiculously expensive "bundles" was also a terrific indication that something was just not cricket with the game? I mean honestly, who in the heck is buying those things?
  • jr20mb13jr20mb13 Member Posts: 58 Arc User
    Being CM, spending time playing the game and learning it would be quite beneficial to create the ability to be more in touch with the player base, to help understand what the game needs and what we players need out of a CM. Lack of knowledge and the mess of mistakes in blog posts just really scream to me STO is becoming an after thought, I'm definitely not trying to attack anyone personally, I've just beenf playing since 2012 and have noticed a shift for sure, the evidence is all out there. If they're spread too thin, maybe send those blog posts across the desk of a coworker to proof read before pushing them out, surely that cant take more than 15 minutes.
  • sheldonlcoopersheldonlcooper Member Posts: 4,042 Arc User
    I think the only real evidence we have of problems are the errors in the announcements, which seem now to be every announcement. I would describe this as strange. And super easy to fix. Feels like I could do it in less than 5 hours a week? I'm available if the company is interested.

    Captain Jean-Luc Picard: "We think we've come so far. Torture of heretics, burning of witches, it's all ancient history. Then - before you can blink an eye - suddenly it threatens to start all over again."

    "With the first link, the chain is forged. The first speech censured, the first thought forbidden, the first freedom denied, chains us all irrevocably."

  • davefenestratordavefenestrator Member Posts: 10,501 Arc User
    edited August 2021
    I see an ongoing problem localized to one or two staff members, not a general failure.

    We're still getting new story episodes and TFOs, not just gear and ships.

    Additional developers would be nice, but this is a smaller game not WoW so I keep my expectations modest.

    The ship implementations themselves keep improving even if many of the modern Trek show designs are not my cup of tea. The refreshing of classic ship designs have been great.

    Sales don't bother me, I just ignore ones I don't care about.

    "Event fatigue" doesn't bother me because I skip some events and skip doing extra days on the events I complete.
  • eazzieeazzie Member Posts: 3,980 Arc User
    edited August 2021
    jr20mb13 wrote: »
    Being CM, spending time playing the game and learning it would be quite beneficial to create the ability to be more in touch with the player base, to help understand what the game needs and what we players need out of a CM. Lack of knowledge and the mess of mistakes in blog posts just really scream to me STO is becoming an after thought, I'm definitely not trying to attack anyone personally, I've just beenf playing since 2012 and have noticed a shift for sure, the evidence is all out there. If they're spread too thin, maybe send those blog posts across the desk of a coworker to proof read before pushing them out, surely that cant take more than 15 minutes.

    Kael is also CM of Champions so not only has he got that to keep an eye he also has STO. As for passing blogs over to another This would be great If they were in the office but they aren't due to the pandemic. So at the mo the only option would be to email it. wait for the email to come back and then make the relevant corrections. Also being at home Kael would have had family around not at least his daughter so theres a distraction there. Yes theres been typos been mistakes, but from what I've seen from Ten Forward Streams where an error has been made Kael or the devs have admitted a mistake. All in all the errors have been silly typos nothing major. Not game breaking. Just by someone who has a lot on their plate. Kael can be forgiven for these. All at Cyptic whether they are a dev, CM or other role are all doing their very very best under extreme trying circumstances.
  • trekfangrrrl#6910 trekfangrrrl Member Posts: 111 Arc User
    reyan01 wrote: »
    eazzie wrote: »
    jr20mb13 wrote: »
    Being CM, spending time playing the game and learning it would be quite beneficial to create the ability to be more in touch with the player base, to help understand what the game needs and what we players need out of a CM. Lack of knowledge and the mess of mistakes in blog posts just really scream to me STO is becoming an after thought, I'm definitely not trying to attack anyone personally, I've just beenf playing since 2012 and have noticed a shift for sure, the evidence is all out there. If they're spread too thin, maybe send those blog posts across the desk of a coworker to proof read before pushing them out, surely that cant take more than 15 minutes.

    Kael is also CM of Champions so not only has he got that to keep an eye he also has STO. As for passing blogs over to another This would be great If they were in the office but they aren't due to the pandemic. So at the mo the only option would be to email it. wait for the email to come back and then make the relevant corrections. Also being at home Kael would have had family around not at least his daughter so theres a distraction there. Yes theres been typos been mistakes, but from what I've seen from Ten Forward Streams where an error has been made Kael or the devs have admitted a mistake. All in all the errors have been silly typos nothing major. Not game breaking. Just by someone who has a lot on their plate. Kael can be forgiven for these. All at Cyptic whether they are a dev, CM or other role are all doing their very very best under extreme trying circumstances.

    All well and good..... except this behavior predates the pandemic. Significantly.

    This comment is not directed at any 1 person specifically but is a general sentiment:

    Since the beginning of the pandemic I have noticed a number of people/businesses using covid to try to justify/excuse mistakes they were making BEFORE covid was was even a thing. I find this behavior extremely disgusting, because those people are taking something that is a real tragedy and trying to selfishly use to justify their own mistakes.

    Like I said I am not directing that at any 1 person specifically, but ANYONE who does that is a disgusting person.
  • phoenixc#0738 phoenixc Member Posts: 5,459 Arc User
    There are a lot of remote collaboration programs out there so working from home should not be a problem if they pick and use some of the tools already available.
  • jonsillsjonsills Member Posts: 10,354 Arc User
    reyan01 wrote: »
    eazzie wrote: »
    jr20mb13 wrote: »
    Being CM, spending time playing the game and learning it would be quite beneficial to create the ability to be more in touch with the player base, to help understand what the game needs and what we players need out of a CM. Lack of knowledge and the mess of mistakes in blog posts just really scream to me STO is becoming an after thought, I'm definitely not trying to attack anyone personally, I've just beenf playing since 2012 and have noticed a shift for sure, the evidence is all out there. If they're spread too thin, maybe send those blog posts across the desk of a coworker to proof read before pushing them out, surely that cant take more than 15 minutes.

    Kael is also CM of Champions so not only has he got that to keep an eye he also has STO. As for passing blogs over to another This would be great If they were in the office but they aren't due to the pandemic. So at the mo the only option would be to email it. wait for the email to come back and then make the relevant corrections. Also being at home Kael would have had family around not at least his daughter so theres a distraction there. Yes theres been typos been mistakes, but from what I've seen from Ten Forward Streams where an error has been made Kael or the devs have admitted a mistake. All in all the errors have been silly typos nothing major. Not game breaking. Just by someone who has a lot on their plate. Kael can be forgiven for these. All at Cyptic whether they are a dev, CM or other role are all doing their very very best under extreme trying circumstances.

    All well and good..... except this behavior predates the pandemic. Significantly.

    This comment is not directed at any 1 person specifically but is a general sentiment:

    Since the beginning of the pandemic I have noticed a number of people/businesses using covid to try to justify/excuse mistakes they were making BEFORE covid was was even a thing. I find this behavior extremely disgusting, because those people are taking something that is a real tragedy and trying to selfishly use to justify their own mistakes.

    Like I said I am not directing that at any 1 person specifically, but ANYONE who does that is a disgusting person.
    This comment is not directed at any one person specifically, but is a general sentiment:

    For at least the past several months I have noticed an increasing number of people whose expectation of customer service, in virtually any endeavor, is a tad... unrealistic. And said people respond with completely unnecessary levels of vitriol (yes, Karen, I know you've been waiting ten minutes for your shrimp paella - shall we call in all the kitchen staff who are currently self-isolating or hospitalized with COVID?). I find this behavior extremely disturbing, because these people are living through a real tragedy, one which they frequently make worse by refusing to take even basic precautions, and selfishly trying to use it to justify their own severe levels of entitlement.

    As I said, I'm not directing that at any one person specifically, but ANYONE who does that is a disturbed person.
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  • trekfangrrrl#6910 trekfangrrrl Member Posts: 111 Arc User
    jonsills wrote: »
    For at least the past several months I have noticed an increasing number of people whose expectation of customer service, in virtually any endeavor, is a tad... unrealistic.

    This may or may not surprise you but I actually agree. Lots of customers are idiots and jerks. But that also has nothing to do with the problem I was talking about in my post. If a person/company is making the mistakes they were making BEFORE covid happened, they don't get to suddenly use covid to try to justify/excuse the mistakes now. That's lying and disgusting.
  • fleetcaptain5#1134 fleetcaptain5 Member Posts: 4,754 Arc User
    The info isn't wrong, it's just distorted by temporal trickery. Or it's a Romulan plot, they may be trying to lure away our ships and captains to carry out another surprise attack against Vulcan.


    Kidding of course. Yes, mistakes are being made for which there is no excuse. It's becoming very sad. Despite what the launcher says, we don't even have events that last only three or four days!
    [4:46] [Combat {self}] Your Haymaker deals 23337 (9049) Physical Damage(Critical) to Spawnmother

    [3/25 10:41][Combat (Self)]Your Haymaker deals 26187 (10692) Physical Damage(Critical) to Orinoco.
  • vegeta50024vegeta50024 Member Posts: 2,335 Arc User
    I think the only real evidence we have of problems are the errors in the announcements, which seem now to be every announcement. I would describe this as strange. And super easy to fix. Feels like I could do it in less than 5 hours a week? I'm available if the company is interested.

    many of us have offered to work with the team...lol

    The problem with that is that if you were to work with the team on just proofreading blogs, depending on WHEN those blogs go live, you'd have to keep an oath not to say anything before it goes live. Why do you think that they are so hush hush about what it is they're doing all the time? As much as they want to tell us everything, they also have to know limits and when not to spill the beans.

    TSC_Signature_Gen_4_-_Vegeta_Small.png
  • fleetcaptain5#1134 fleetcaptain5 Member Posts: 4,754 Arc User
    reyan01 wrote: »
    eazzie wrote: »
    jr20mb13 wrote: »
    Being CM, spending time playing the game and learning it would be quite beneficial to create the ability to be more in touch with the player base, to help understand what the game needs and what we players need out of a CM. Lack of knowledge and the mess of mistakes in blog posts just really scream to me STO is becoming an after thought, I'm definitely not trying to attack anyone personally, I've just beenf playing since 2012 and have noticed a shift for sure, the evidence is all out there. If they're spread too thin, maybe send those blog posts across the desk of a coworker to proof read before pushing them out, surely that cant take more than 15 minutes.

    Kael is also CM of Champions so not only has he got that to keep an eye he also has STO. As for passing blogs over to another This would be great If they were in the office but they aren't due to the pandemic. So at the mo the only option would be to email it. wait for the email to come back and then make the relevant corrections. Also being at home Kael would have had family around not at least his daughter so theres a distraction there. Yes theres been typos been mistakes, but from what I've seen from Ten Forward Streams where an error has been made Kael or the devs have admitted a mistake. All in all the errors have been silly typos nothing major. Not game breaking. Just by someone who has a lot on their plate. Kael can be forgiven for these. All at Cyptic whether they are a dev, CM or other role are all doing their very very best under extreme trying circumstances.

    All well and good..... except this behavior predates the pandemic. Significantly.

    Besides, the mistakes being made should be easily spotted by anyone who really cares about the game.

    It's very basic knowledge usually. Rewards that have already been offered before, the duration of events... Just now, there's a launcher item saying that there will be an event from 8/13 to 8/16.

    No event, and certainly not an event that's part of the big multi-event campaigns, runs for such a short time. None. Besides that, those dates had long passed when the item was put up there!

    When I saw it, I didn't even have to properly read it to know it was wrong. Any CM (or even any player) who has been with the game for years could have instantly spotted it.


    I honestly don't really care for info on the launcher or the home page. I'll launch the game anyway and see what's going on where and when as soon as I'm inside. But those who do complain about these things are absolutely right that there is no excuse for this level of carelessness.
    [4:46] [Combat {self}] Your Haymaker deals 23337 (9049) Physical Damage(Critical) to Spawnmother

    [3/25 10:41][Combat (Self)]Your Haymaker deals 26187 (10692) Physical Damage(Critical) to Orinoco.
  • peterconnorfirstpeterconnorfirst Member Posts: 6,225 Arc User
    edited August 2021
    I think the Problem runs much deeper. STO has been living from its substance for far too long.

    Yep, we get cool episodes every once in a while. Voice actors, great visuals, perfect Trek feeling...

    Sadly this can only cover for 1% of the enthusiasm I am willing to bring.

    For the rest I’d need to have a healthy PvE environment which I don’t. I forgot how many years have past since the last map I’d consider fun to (re)play has been released.

    As things are now a minimum grind still gets me to log but even the most appealing shiny becomes uninteresting if one feels that there is nothing one can do with it in game.

    It really takes a certain amount of skill to treat a game like this especially under consideration of all the backup it should have from the new Trek shows.
    animated.gif
    Looking for a fun PvE fleet? Join us at Omega Combat Division today.
    felisean wrote: »
    teamwork to reach a goal is awesome and highly appreciated
  • meimeitoomeimeitoo Member Posts: 12,587 Arc User
    reyan01 wrote: »
    eazzie wrote: »
    jr20mb13 wrote: »
    Being CM, spending time playing the game and learning it would be quite beneficial to create the ability to be more in touch with the player base, to help understand what the game needs and what we players need out of a CM. Lack of knowledge and the mess of mistakes in blog posts just really scream to me STO is becoming an after thought, I'm definitely not trying to attack anyone personally, I've just beenf playing since 2012 and have noticed a shift for sure, the evidence is all out there. If they're spread too thin, maybe send those blog posts across the desk of a coworker to proof read before pushing them out, surely that cant take more than 15 minutes.

    Kael is also CM of Champions so not only has he got that to keep an eye he also has STO. As for passing blogs over to another This would be great If they were in the office but they aren't due to the pandemic. So at the mo the only option would be to email it. wait for the email to come back and then make the relevant corrections. Also being at home Kael would have had family around not at least his daughter so theres a distraction there. Yes theres been typos been mistakes, but from what I've seen from Ten Forward Streams where an error has been made Kael or the devs have admitted a mistake. All in all the errors have been silly typos nothing major. Not game breaking. Just by someone who has a lot on their plate. Kael can be forgiven for these. All at Cyptic whether they are a dev, CM or other role are all doing their very very best under extreme trying circumstances.

    All well and good..... except this behavior predates the pandemic. Significantly.

    Besides, the mistakes being made should be easily spotted by anyone who really cares about the game.

    It's very basic knowledge usually. Rewards that have already been offered before, the duration of events... Just now, there's a launcher item saying that there will be an event from 8/13 to 8/16.

    No event, and certainly not an event that's part of the big multi-event campaigns, runs for such a short time. None. Besides that, those dates had long passed when the item was put up there!

    When I saw it, I didn't even have to properly read it to know it was wrong. Any CM (or even any player) who has been with the game for years could have instantly spotted it.


    ^^ So much this.

    It's not higher math. Even the very fact of 'copy & paste' alone would make one see what was getting pasted -- even if the one doing the copying (inadvertent, unavoidable visual check nr. 1) were to purposely try and do their best to be as disinterested as possible during the pasting (inadvertent, unavoidable visual check nr. 2).

    Also, let's keep Covid out of it.
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  • rattler2rattler2 Member Posts: 57,973 Community Moderator
    Ok... we're done with this.
    Please note that the protections afforded to fellow forumites in regards to flaming, under forum rules, also extends to Cryptic staff. I may have let you guys vent a bit in hopes that things will calm down, but this is a doom/bash the CM thread, and it doesn't look like having a vent is helping all that much. Criticizm is one thing, flames are another.
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    I can't take it anymore! Could everyone just chill out for two seconds before something CRAZY happens again?!
    The nut who actually ground out many packs. The resident forum voice of reason (I HAZ FORUM REP! YAY!)
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