Development Cycle Archive
Thread: Community Relations Follow-up
Sunakk
Thu Jan 13, 2005 10:49 am
#183
Calandryll_SOE wrote:
Actually your post was probably deleted because of the last line in the original. A bit inflamatory. Anyway, send me a PM with the info. I will check into it.
Don't moderators have an edit option? If only one line would cause a problem, I'm sure it would satisfy the community as a whole if moderators just took that out, and added "Edited by moderator for <reason>." Would this not make more sense, take just as much time on the moderator's part, and keep the constructive posts intact?
Sure, if more than just one line is against board policy, delete away. But at the same time, send a PM to the poster so they know the reason. Just to make sure they understand, as you find way too many "Why Was My Post Deleted?" threads.
DeQuosaek
Thu Jan 13, 2005 11:05 am
#184
In response to all the people who think the game has terrible Customer Support Representatives and think they don't care, aren't fair, or never answer any of their questions:
I have always had positive experiences with the CSRs when filing a ticket for help. Sometimes it is notthe answer I'm hoping for, but that doesn't make it bad service. They've always answered my tickets in a pretty timely fashion and responded with answers that have helped me.
Luckily I haven't had to file very many tickets. But all of the tickets I have filed have been answered and the issues have been resolved.
I think what many people may not realize is that sometimes you'll getwhat looks like an automatedcanned response to tide you over before you get the specific response. You can't always expect an answer to your ticket within ten minutes or even an hour because as you can see, there are many people filing tickets and many tickets to handle.
Now, I fully expect one stars for relating my experiences with customer service, but that just goes to show the kind of people we have in the community and why the CS department sometimes has a hard time handling tickets. I would have many 'bad days' too if I constantly had to deal with some of the worse people of this community. There is the good side of the community too (you know who you are) and they are generally the ones who welcome stricter forum moderation because they aren't out of line and don't have anything to fear from it. They are the same ones who DO post negative responses about the game, but do so in a helpful manner, without calling anyone names, and without flaming.
NeradDoonba
Thu Jan 13, 2005 11:32 am
#185
I must admit that I have found the in-game CSR's very polite and helpful with any in-game issue I have had 
. Although I do think this is because I'm polite to them and explain my issue in a constructive manner.
. Although I do think this is because I'm polite to them and explain my issue in a constructive manner. Although probably a bad analogy, its like when you talk to a cop, be pleasent and if you've done nothing wrong they send you on your way. On the other hand if you act like a spoilt child with anger and insults you are going to get a far worse reponse.
I have had a poor experiance with the CSR live chat via the website. The couple of guys I have spoken todo not seem to understand the issue and oftern kinda shrug their shoulders ( in an online way! 
)
)The Tech support forum could do with a bit more attention...ie at least reply to the posts that this is either a known issue or a request for more infomation.
On the whole though I've found the CSR support to be very good and the communication seems to be getting much better although I never had too much of an issue with this anyway
keep up the good work SOE!
Jerii_SDLC
Thu Jan 13, 2005 12:06 pm
#186
Gee where do I begin? It's kind of ironic that the very day I started SWG was the exact day I left it. Nov 16 2003 - Nov 16 2004. Reason why I left? Quite a few really so just bear with my mind-numbing ramblings:
1) When you get to a certain part of the game e.g. you mastered several professions (during the Jedi Grind(tm)) and then finally wait for the payoff...but then fall short. Why would someone want to grind professions for nearly 6 months and then be told to grind almost another 6 month's worth of exp to get that final payoff: Jedi?
2) With my non-frequent run-ins with problems with the game I tended to hear the "horror stories" about the SWG CSR's. Tell misinformation, rude, treats the players like 3rd class citizens, etc, etc. Kinda turned me off when I had a problem, was a simple problem really, and the CSR bluntly says: "No sorry we can't help you." That's more or less saying I'm S.O.L. and suck it up. Riiiiiiiight.
3) Where's the story arcs? Last year during this time we had the Cries of Alderaan story arc going. Then it stopped. Heard rumblings that there might be more on the way. A year later...we're still waiting and hoping...
4) Where's the high end content/quests? If you've actually in a year's time completed all the theme parks, corvette missions, story line arcs, swoop race tracks, and the new piloting missions...what ELSE is there to do? Besides the monotonous go to Dantooine Mining Outpost, get a big group, get lots of exp, jack squat for cash(oh yeah thanks VERY unmuch for that update guys) and then what? Tell your friends that you just spent 3 and a half hours maxing out all of your combat exp and other elite profession's exp? That's called being a sucker there.
5) JTL beta was FUN. Then it went live. I said it back then on the JTL beta boards and I'll reiterate: JTL would be a make or break for SWG. With the somewhat recent launches of EQ2 and WoW and the hordes of players flocking to either from SWG...mmm well you see where I'm going with this? Basically the players are telling you 1) SWG wasn't worth the price of admission and 2) it isn't fun anymore.
When EXACTLY is SWG going to FINALLY progress forward to the Empire Strikes Back era? Nearly two years later and still nothing on that. There would be your high end content zone AND your GCW content. But wait...you have to fix this profession or that tinker toy. Guys have you stopped and thought for one moment that all these fixes aren't really fixing things? With every fix there's something else that's broken. Stop fixing things it only hurts the game more.
Combat Balance/Upgrade: That's the biggest oxymoron in this game. What's there to fix? You want to fix it so that Swordsman can stand toe to toe with a gun equipped Bounty Hunter? Where's the immersion...wait...where's the reality in that?? Same goes for a Jedi. A single Jedi Knight vs a Master Bounty Hunter. Oh yeah that's going to be fixed. Now a Jedi Knight won't be able to do anything but admire the gun that's pointed at his/her/its head. Yeah good combat upgrade.
Basically that's pretty much my overall viewpoint of the game. I didn't post a goodbye thread or anything like that. I just simply left. However if you, this new guy and his band of A-Teamer's, are really serious about fixing this game and righting the ship, take a step back and look outside the box. Admittedly towards the end I really enjoyed Tiggs. She/he was very upbeat and pretty nice overall to deal with. I'd love to say "If you fixed this and that I'd be more than willing to come back!!!". Sorry isn't going to happen. I enjoyed this game mostly for the company of my friends and the game itself. Sadly the latter lapsed in keeping my friends and I playing. If I had a choice, just one choice, to change one thing in this game it'd be having a continuous storyline arc going. That's what kept things fun and interesting. I highly enjoyed the Cries Of Alderaan series. It made the game and which side you were on really MEAN something and it also prompted teamwork. I love this game because it is Star Wars. I love this game because of the experience it gave me for future games.
With that I'd bid you farewell and good luck.
Jerii
1) When you get to a certain part of the game e.g. you mastered several professions (during the Jedi Grind(tm)) and then finally wait for the payoff...but then fall short. Why would someone want to grind professions for nearly 6 months and then be told to grind almost another 6 month's worth of exp to get that final payoff: Jedi?
2) With my non-frequent run-ins with problems with the game I tended to hear the "horror stories" about the SWG CSR's. Tell misinformation, rude, treats the players like 3rd class citizens, etc, etc. Kinda turned me off when I had a problem, was a simple problem really, and the CSR bluntly says: "No sorry we can't help you." That's more or less saying I'm S.O.L. and suck it up. Riiiiiiiight.
3) Where's the story arcs? Last year during this time we had the Cries of Alderaan story arc going. Then it stopped. Heard rumblings that there might be more on the way. A year later...we're still waiting and hoping...
4) Where's the high end content/quests? If you've actually in a year's time completed all the theme parks, corvette missions, story line arcs, swoop race tracks, and the new piloting missions...what ELSE is there to do? Besides the monotonous go to Dantooine Mining Outpost, get a big group, get lots of exp, jack squat for cash(oh yeah thanks VERY unmuch for that update guys) and then what? Tell your friends that you just spent 3 and a half hours maxing out all of your combat exp and other elite profession's exp? That's called being a sucker there.
5) JTL beta was FUN. Then it went live. I said it back then on the JTL beta boards and I'll reiterate: JTL would be a make or break for SWG. With the somewhat recent launches of EQ2 and WoW and the hordes of players flocking to either from SWG...mmm well you see where I'm going with this? Basically the players are telling you 1) SWG wasn't worth the price of admission and 2) it isn't fun anymore.
When EXACTLY is SWG going to FINALLY progress forward to the Empire Strikes Back era? Nearly two years later and still nothing on that. There would be your high end content zone AND your GCW content. But wait...you have to fix this profession or that tinker toy. Guys have you stopped and thought for one moment that all these fixes aren't really fixing things? With every fix there's something else that's broken. Stop fixing things it only hurts the game more.
Combat Balance/Upgrade: That's the biggest oxymoron in this game. What's there to fix? You want to fix it so that Swordsman can stand toe to toe with a gun equipped Bounty Hunter? Where's the immersion...wait...where's the reality in that?? Same goes for a Jedi. A single Jedi Knight vs a Master Bounty Hunter. Oh yeah that's going to be fixed. Now a Jedi Knight won't be able to do anything but admire the gun that's pointed at his/her/its head. Yeah good combat upgrade.
Basically that's pretty much my overall viewpoint of the game. I didn't post a goodbye thread or anything like that. I just simply left. However if you, this new guy and his band of A-Teamer's, are really serious about fixing this game and righting the ship, take a step back and look outside the box. Admittedly towards the end I really enjoyed Tiggs. She/he was very upbeat and pretty nice overall to deal with. I'd love to say "If you fixed this and that I'd be more than willing to come back!!!". Sorry isn't going to happen. I enjoyed this game mostly for the company of my friends and the game itself. Sadly the latter lapsed in keeping my friends and I playing. If I had a choice, just one choice, to change one thing in this game it'd be having a continuous storyline arc going. That's what kept things fun and interesting. I highly enjoyed the Cries Of Alderaan series. It made the game and which side you were on really MEAN something and it also prompted teamwork. I love this game because it is Star Wars. I love this game because of the experience it gave me for future games.
With that I'd bid you farewell and good luck.
Jerii
AnmeldungStinkt
Thu Jan 13, 2005 12:37 pm
#187
Jerii_SDLC wrote:
Gee where do I begin? It's kind of ironic that the very day I started SWG was the exact day I left it. Nov 16 2003 - Nov 16 2004. Reason why I left? Quite a few really so just bear with my mind-numbing ramblings:
1) When you get to a certain part of the game e.g. you mastered several professions (during the Jedi Grind(tm)) and then finally wait for the payoff...but then fall short. Why would someone want to grind professions for nearly 6 months and then be told to grind almost another 6 month's worth of exp to get that final payoff: Jedi?
2) With my non-frequent run-ins with problems with the game I tended to hear the "horror stories" about the SWG CSR's. Tell misinformation, rude, treats the players like 3rd class citizens, etc, etc. Kinda turned me off when I had a problem, was a simple problem really, and the CSR bluntly says: "No sorry we can't help you." That's more or less saying I'm S.O.L. and suck it up. Riiiiiiiight.
3) Where's the story arcs? Last year during this time we had the Cries of Alderaan story arc going. Then it stopped. Heard rumblings that there might be more on the way. A year later...we're still waiting and hoping...
4) Where's the high end content/quests? If you've actually in a year's time completed all the theme parks, corvette missions, story line arcs, swoop race tracks, and the new piloting missions...what ELSE is there to do? Besides the monotonous go to Dantooine Mining Outpost, get a big group, get lots of exp, jack squat for cash(oh yeah thanks VERY unmuch for that update guys) and then what? Tell your friends that you just spent 3 and a half hours maxing out all of your combat exp and other elite profession's exp? That's called being a sucker there.
5) JTL beta was FUN. Then it went live. I said it back then on the JTL beta boards and I'll reiterate: JTL would be a make or break for SWG. With the somewhat recent launches of EQ2 and WoW and the hordes of players flocking to either from SWG...mmm well you see where I'm going with this? Basically the players are telling you 1) SWG wasn't worth the price of admission and 2) it isn't fun anymore.
When EXACTLY is SWG going to FINALLY progress forward to the Empire Strikes Back era? Nearly two years later and still nothing on that. There would be your high end content zone AND your GCW content. But wait...you have to fix this profession or that tinker toy. Guys have you stopped and thought for one moment that all these fixes aren't really fixing things? With every fix there's something else that's broken. Stop fixing things it only hurts the game more.
Combat Balance/Upgrade: That's the biggest oxymoron in this game. What's there to fix? You want to fix it so that Swordsman can stand toe to toe with a gun equipped Bounty Hunter? Where's the immersion...wait...where's the reality in that?? Same goes for a Jedi. A single Jedi Knight vs a Master Bounty Hunter. Oh yeah that's going to be fixed. Now a Jedi Knight won't be able to do anything but admire the gun that's pointed at his/her/its head. Yeah good combat upgrade.
Basically that's pretty much my overall viewpoint of the game. I didn't post a goodbye thread or anything like that. I just simply left. However if you, this new guy and his band of A-Teamer's, are really serious about fixing this game and righting the ship, take a step back and look outside the box. Admittedly towards the end I really enjoyed Tiggs. She/he was very upbeat and pretty nice overall to deal with. I'd love to say "If you fixed this and that I'd be more than willing to come back!!!". Sorry isn't going to happen. I enjoyed this game mostly for the company of my friends and the game itself. Sadly the latter lapsed in keeping my friends and I playing. If I had a choice, just one choice, to change one thing in this game it'd be having a continuous storyline arc going. That's what kept things fun and interesting. I highly enjoyed the Cries Of Alderaan series. It made the game and which side you were on really MEAN something and it also prompted teamwork. I love this game because it is Star Wars. I love this game because of the experience it gave me for future games.
With that I'd bid you farewell and good luck.
Jerii
You did not mention to have had one minute of fun while playing the game. Besides what you think of the game is not really on topic your post is very one-sided. It sounds like grinding hours every day would be absolutely common but no game can cater a 8 hour powergamer. Simply because developing content takes much more time than doing the content no matter how many devs are working on it.
There are many others that spend that much time and intensly play but spending so much time on SWG and being so serious about it. Sounds like the behaviour of an addicted, doing stuff for hours of time every day despite hating it and still being very serious.
Sorry dude, but game developers are as helpful for you as a drugdealer for a pothead.
jefmes
Thu Jan 13, 2005 2:29 pm
#188
Swashbuckler wrote:
I'm not sure if it's how I play this game or how I am as a person, but most of the time I haven't got a clue what you all are complaining about.
I've been playing since august 2003, I'm no power player and had little experience with MMOGs before that point, but I do enjoy the game. Of course everything isn't perfect, far from it, but please try and come up with a game that actually is perfect. And even better a perfect MMOG. The nature of the genre makes it in my opinion impossible to satisfy the entire playerbase at the moment.
As for the issues in this thread, specially the part about linking forum behaviour to in-game behaviour, I can't see what's worth whining about. If some guy spend his entire morning spamming, let's say the Farstar Galaxy forum, I hope and want that to have consequences for his game acccount as well. If that person can't behave in a message board, he/she probably won't behave very good in the game either. As for verifying who actually did it, both message boards and game is equiped with a nifty feature called "Username and Password". If you can't trust the people around you, use that feature...
As for the competition: The loudest people here who actually leave for Eq2 or WoW or any other competitor will probably end up in pretty much the same situation with the next game. We've seen it before. People believe the next game will be so much better. It will have it all. It'll revolutionize the genre! People get disappointed.
I give my trust to the new guy for now. He seems to be starting off in the right direction. Can't blame him for that, now can you. I'd like to hear your complaints if the moderators started to judge the forum users based on former members...
Nice post, I completely agree. Every issue I've ever had has been taken care of in a relatively timely manor, and even though some friends have had problems at times, I think they were simply being impatient personally. Then again, I have to do some of the same type of CS for a living so maybe I have a different perspective than those who take issue with everything the dev team tries to do.
Swashbuckler
Thu Jan 13, 2005 5:45 pm
#189
AnmeldungStinkt wrote:
Jerii_SDLC wrote:
Gee where do I begin? It's kind of ironic that the very day I started SWG was the exact day I left it. Nov 16 2003 - Nov 16 2004. Reason why I left? Quite a few really so just bear with my mind-numbing ramblings:
1) When you get to a certain part of the game e.g. you mastered several professions (during the Jedi Grind(tm)) and then finally wait for the payoff...but then fall short. Why would someone want to grind professions for nearly 6 months and then be told to grind almost another 6 month's worth of exp to get that final payoff: Jedi?
2) With my non-frequent run-ins with problems with the game I tended to hear the "horror stories" about the SWG CSR's. Tell misinformation, rude, treats the players like 3rd class citizens, etc, etc. Kinda turned me off when I had a problem, was a simple problem really, and the CSR bluntly says: "No sorry we can't help you." That's more or less saying I'm S.O.L. and suck it up. Riiiiiiiight.
3) Where's the story arcs? Last year during this time we had the Cries of Alderaan story arc going. Then it stopped. Heard rumblings that there might be more on the way. A year later...we're still waiting and hoping...
4) Where's the high end content/quests? If you've actually in a year's time completed all the theme parks, corvette missions, story line arcs, swoop race tracks, and the new piloting missions...what ELSE is there to do? Besides the monotonous go to Dantooine Mining Outpost, get a big group, get lots of exp, jack squat for cash(oh yeah thanks VERY unmuch for that update guys) and then what? Tell your friends that you just spent 3 and a half hours maxing out all of your combat exp and other elite profession's exp? That's called being a sucker there.
5) JTL beta was FUN. Then it went live. I said it back then on the JTL beta boards and I'll reiterate: JTL would be a make or break for SWG. With the somewhat recent launches of EQ2 and WoW and the hordes of players flocking to either from SWG...mmm well you see where I'm going with this? Basically the players are telling you 1) SWG wasn't worth the price of admission and 2) it isn't fun anymore.
When EXACTLY is SWG going to FINALLY progress forward to the Empire Strikes Back era? Nearly two years later and still nothing on that. There would be your high end content zone AND your GCW content. But wait...you have to fix this profession or that tinker toy. Guys have you stopped and thought for one moment that all these fixes aren't really fixing things? With every fix there's something else that's broken. Stop fixing things it only hurts the game more.
Combat Balance/Upgrade: That's the biggest oxymoron in this game. What's there to fix? You want to fix it so that Swordsman can stand toe to toe with a gun equipped Bounty Hunter? Where's the immersion...wait...where's the reality in that?? Same goes for a Jedi. A single Jedi Knight vs a Master Bounty Hunter. Oh yeah that's going to be fixed. Now a Jedi Knight won't be able to do anything but admire the gun that's pointed at his/her/its head. Yeah good combat upgrade.
Basically that's pretty much my overall viewpoint of the game. I didn't post a goodbye thread or anything like that. I just simply left. However if you, this new guy and his band of A-Teamer's, are really serious about fixing this game and righting the ship, take a step back and look outside the box. Admittedly towards the end I really enjoyed Tiggs. She/he was very upbeat and pretty nice overall to deal with. I'd love to say "If you fixed this and that I'd be more than willing to come back!!!". Sorry isn't going to happen. I enjoyed this game mostly for the company of my friends and the game itself. Sadly the latter lapsed in keeping my friends and I playing. If I had a choice, just one choice, to change one thing in this game it'd be having a continuous storyline arc going. That's what kept things fun and interesting. I highly enjoyed the Cries Of Alderaan series. It made the game and which side you were on really MEAN something and it also prompted teamwork. I love this game because it is Star Wars. I love this game because of the experience it gave me for future games.
With that I'd bid you farewell and good luck.
Jerii
You did not mention to have had one minute of fun while playing the game. Besides what you think of the game is not really on topic your post is very one-sided. It sounds like grinding hours every day would be absolutely common but no game can cater a 8 hour powergamer. Simply because developing content takes much more time than doing the content no matter how many devs are working on it.
There are many others that spend that much time and intensly play but spending so much time on SWG and being so serious about it. Sounds like the behaviour of an addicted, doing stuff for hours of time every day despite hating it and still being very serious.
Sorry dude, but game developers are as helpful for you as a drugdealer for a pothead.
You're onto something right here, I believe. I'll even say: Right on!
Some people seem to expect everything out of a game like this: Hour upon hour of content and fun that'll just be there. Well sorry, but you'll have to do some of it yourself. That's the idea: This is no singleplayer game that'll entertain you through a well thought out storyline, it's a multiplayer game dependant on the players own input and initiative, and that's excatly the thing that makes it interesting and special. You can only have so much fun playing with a computer - put another human in the mix and you've really got something.
Then again, another human may well ruin your entire gaming experience. And the fact that the game isn't about YOU all the time may also lessen your interest. I can't relate to the "end game" or "high end content" myself, as I'm far from being there. Maybe it's missing, maybe I'll quit when I reach that point (if I ever do) - I'll give you that. But you can't say that somebody ever promised you that this game would keep you happy forever, no matter what you do.
The slogan goes: "Experience the greatest saga ever told. Yours." Well, that "you" in there actually means you have to do something and that something is not "finish the game". At leats that's how I see it, but maybe I'm just SOE's useful idiot
Lumpa
Thu Jan 13, 2005 10:44 pm
#190
Ill give ya another woot. And woot for your interpretation of our responses, and your stand on em. Now get working!
BleuDestiny
Fri Jan 14, 2005 1:05 am
#191
CSR's...
Yes the "experience" is often unsatisfactory. Particularly when they don't seem to relate to the issue being ticketed, give a vague, or non-specific response that doesn't leave the player with the impression that the matter has been fully understood, and then when you think some more information is in order, the CSR on the first contact closes the ticket abruptly. This has happened about half of the times that I've filed tickets, and that's far too often. I also note that it is becoming common that if at first you don't succeed (because the CSR prematurely closed the ticket) then try try again, with some success. As this catches on more, then there's going to be a lot of reworking of redundant tickets in the CSR's queues which is something I'm sure SOE would not like to see happen. Better to get it right the first time.
The other half of the time the issue is handled satisfactorily, even if the answer is a knowledgable "can't help you in this situation, sorry."
I'm pleased with the changes in communication that have been put on the table.
Court-Jester
Fri Jan 14, 2005 8:51 am
#192
Calandryll_Soe...
I get the feeling that this thread is now not openly monitored by
But it is my hope that it is and this link will provide a little incite as to some of the animosity some of us older members have with the dev team. Please click me
I don't have anything overly constructive to say. But then again I don't have anything overly negative to say. I'm happy with this line of candor (spelling not withstanding heh). That link provided was because I was trying to find information about the force sensative "luck" line. Its just frustrating to find stuff like this. Not that I didn't know it exsisted but because it brings back a foul taste in my mouth from leftover promises
Calandryll_SOE
Fri Jan 14, 2005 12:23 pm
#194
Court-Jester wrote:
Calandryll_Soe...
I get the feeling that this thread is now not openly monitored by
But it is my hope that it is and this link will provide a little incite as to some of the animosity some of us older members have with the dev team. Please click me
I don't have anything overly constructive to say. But then again I don't have anything overly negative to say. I'm happy with this line of candor (spelling not withstanding heh). That link provided was because I was trying to find information about the force sensative "luck" line. Its just frustrating to find stuff like this. Not that I didn't know it exsisted but because it brings back a foul taste in my mouth from leftover promises
I understand the animosity and never claimed it wasn't warrented. I totally agree that actions speak louder than words. Next week, you will see some action on the Community proposalsI have been talking about as well as some other stuff.
Rueger_Karde
Fri Jan 14, 2005 12:40 pm
#195
Good. I like to see actions. : )
They make me tingly on the inside.