Development Cycle Archive
Thread: In Develepment #2004-1: Changes to the Official Forum Take 2
DakkTunon wrote:
Thunderheart wrote:
I've summarized the issues and Ill be in a meeting this afternoon to talk about the changes and the SWG Discussion forum. Ill let you know what comes out of it.
OK, TH... so, it's the day after, any news for us yet?
Sure 
Off the top, for those of you who didnt notice the post, we agreed to have a Jedi Correspondent. Ill make my decision from the list of candidates and get that going right away.
As for the SWG discussion forum, it was a really tough debate, but for now, we're moving ahead as planned and closing it. To keep information flowing, we're going to add another forum to the process called "In Live" to discuss issues on live, but it will work like other forums. Red names post new threads and anyone can comment. But I raised the need that you folks have to have a way to bring ideas to us, too.
The key is that the volume of information has to be maneageable so what Im going to do is post a weekly comment thread, much like my daily TC thread (which will be back up and running on Monday). That way, when you make comments and suggestions, Ill be able to read them.
If a critical issue comes up, Ill be able to open a focus thread on the "In Live" forum so we can track everyones comments.
There are a lot of other interesting things, but Ill be posting them in the new forums shortly 
Thunderheart wrote:
As for the SWG discussion forum, it was a really tough debate, but for now, we're moving ahead as planned and closing it. To keep information flowing, we're going to add another forum to the process called "In Live" to discuss issues on live, but it will work like other forums. Red names post new threads and anyone can comment. But I raised the need that you folks have to have a way to bring ideas to us, too.
The key is that the volume of information has to be maneageable so what Im going to do is post a weekly comment thread, much like my daily TC thread (which will be back up and running on Monday). That way, when you make comments and suggestions, Ill be able to read them.
If a critical issue comes up, Ill be able to open a focus thread on the "In Live" forum so we can track everyones comments.
There are a lot of other interesting things, but Ill be posting them in the new forums shortly
Still
Quote:
If a critical issue comes up, Ill be able to open a focus thread on the "In Live" forum so we can track everyones comments.
My concern with this is....WE are the ones who find issues more often. When houses were disappearing... the general DEV response was..."your maintenance ran out". If the thread hadn't swelled to the size it did, would that still be the same response, even today? (Yes, I realize that in every instance that did happen, but the rate it dropped by to get to zero turned out to be the issue)
It BECAME a critical issue because of the ground swell of posters experiencing the same bug.
Warping (which, btw, STILL exists) of riflemen/rangers...another issue.
Vehicles autostoring...
[insert issues found by players]...
How will you make a determination that something needs to be escalated to critical if the voices are scattered?
ShrewLWD wrote:
How will you make a determination that something needs to be escalated to critical if the voices are scattered?
my guess is that we'll blow up his "weekly comment thread" to the point that it'll be so large all you'll get out of it are the one ortwo largest problems with the game for any given week. I don't think he fully understands how out of hand the ONE AND ONLY method for random game suggestions and possible bugs (not to mention lots of trolls) is gonna get. So this thread will become worthless due to sheer volumeand there will be no way to get something escalated.
Shocker.
Thunderheart wrote:
As for the SWG discussion forum, it was a really tough debate, but for now, we're moving ahead as planned and closing it.
Thunderheart wrote:
To keep information flowing, we're going to add another forum to the process called "In Live" to discuss issues on live, but it will work like other forums. Red names post new threads and anyone can comment. But I raised the need that you folks have to have a way to bring ideas to us, too.
The key is that the volume of information has to be maneageable so what Im going to do is post a weekly comment thread, much like my daily TC thread (which will be back up and running on Monday). That way, when you make comments and suggestions, Ill be able to read them.
If a critical issue comes up, Ill be able to open a focus thread on the "In Live" forum so we can track everyones comments.
There are a lot of other interesting things, but Ill be posting them in the new forums shortly
Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.
At least you went throught the motions of asking us our opinions on the change before going ahead with what you had already decided.
Be that as it may, do you think you guys could really do something to "keep information flowing" and open up a bug tracking database, so that we can see what things are are acknowledged bugs,the ETA for when they are scheduled to get a look-see, and such? I can only submit things to the blackhole of /bug so many times before I start to doubt the fact that there is anything on the other end of the 'submit' button besides some script that spits out a ticket number and consigns my bug information to the ether.
For instance, the last published contained several fixes for the Krayt Skull Quest, but unfortunately, those of us who tried to complete the quest when it was bugged (and by "when it was bugged" I mean when it went from "Bugged But Completable" to "Bugged But Uncompletable") now find ourselves stuck at various points. I myself am stuck between: Thale - who has given me the briefcase of cash; Borvo - who took the briefcase, but wouldn't give me any quests before and who now tells me to see his guards; and Borvo's guards - who tell me they don't know what I've been up to, but if I've finished on Corellia (which I have) to go see Borvo (who says he doesn't know me and to go see his guards). What's up with that?
Not that my voice speaks for everyone, but this will assuage my biggest concern with the proposed changes. Thanks for the snappy solution
Thunderheart wrote:
The key is that the volume of information has to be maneageable so what Im going to do is post a weekly comment thread, much like my daily TC thread (which will be back up and running on Monday). That way, when you make comments and suggestions, Ill be able to read them.
If a critical issue comes up, Ill be able to open a focus thread on the "In Live" forum so we can track everyones comments.
I think the new forum idea is bery bad. You have just cut off the public from being able to make suggestions. Cutting off a communication channel does not imrprove communication. All you are doing is effectively censoring your customers. SWG has suffered from bad communications from day one and it looks like it is getting worse.
A bad sign from a fading game
Suddensmith wrote:
I think the new forum idea is bery bad. You have just cut off the public from being able to make suggestions. Cutting off a communication channel does not imrprove communication. All you are doing is effectively censoring your customers. SWG has suffered from bad communications from day one and it looks like it is getting worse.
A bad sign from a fading game
You couldnt be more wrong.
People will have every chance to make constructivesugestions inits appropriate thread or Forum.
What IS cut off is a area where unconstructive rants,whines, flames and troll posts outnumbered constructive posts 100 to 1.
Personally, if they would have asked for my opinion on how they could have corrected the problem, I would have told them to start enforcing the rules and ban all the makers of the unconstructive posts.