Development Cycle Archive
Thread: Friday Feature Errata... Part 2...
Droid-S128 wrote:
Let the thread die! What happens, happens. There is nothing you guys can do about it. So leave before you screw yourselves.
Such an intelligent thing to say in a thread that has gotten a fair amount of intelligent thought and suggestions (along with a large amount of trolling and name calling).
This thread, and other similar threads such as those made back before the last round of changes to the CH profession are important ways to show your satisfaction or dis-satisfaction with potential changes or non-changes to the game.
You may assume (as many people do) that nothing we, the user community, has to say matters to the developers, or you can be optimistic that the developers at least occassionally read these threads and follow what is going on.
I can assure you from working the other side in a past life (not at a game software development firm, but at a software development firm nonetheless) that when users grumble, developers do hear about it, and if they don't, they find they soon have no users because they've gone to other providers.
Developers need feedback, though it should be creative and constructive and not simply: "That Sucks!!!" (more like, "that isn't the best approach, but perhaps this might work better").
If JustG has been reading through the entire thread, then I discount his statement a page ago about threats to cancel. I suspect that some of the potential cancellations (or those like myself that have carried through) have gotten some attention and perhaps struck a nerve. If not, then I would fault the customer service and marketing departments at SOE all the more for not using the informatin they actively seek. Getting feedback that indicates that some measurable percentage of customers are unhappy with things as they sit can be quite valuable to those that make decisions and direct development, even if the developers might have been planning something else, they may run into decisions made by Vice Presidents thanks to promises made to even higher VPs, or even perhaps CFOs that are looking at profit margins and watching them shrink.
Again, if such "threats" are followed through upon, then definitely someone at SOE will be seeing it and rattling cages to find an answer as to WHY customers are leaving the game, which might in turn help to send the developers back to follow up on earlier statements to see if perhaps there is something that they can and should do to help make the situation better.
Following up on some suggestions above:
DECAY CLOTHING NATURALLY AND THROUGH DEATH AND TIMED DECAY. Make the clothing (and armor, and other items) that has zero durability DISAPPEAR. Tell the user that an item has reach zero durability and has been destroyed and then remove it from the inventory, take it off the toon, and send it to the great beyond. A zero durability item should not be left in the game. (Heck, some less than honorable players will take such items and sell them to unsuspecting customers on the bazaar, not something that should be allowed to happen).
DECAY TOOLS and other items in inventory through death. (Though darn it, the special edition glasses should not *ever* be decayed, sorry, they were a gift for players that paid extra for the game, and they should be "indestructible").
Decay armor through use, but not through death. Getting a death blow ontop of hundreds or thousands of points of durability loss taken in a good fight is stupid. One or the other, not both. As is, armor is darn near impossible to find, since many armorsmiths just don't care or have moved onto other professions and don't want to stay in that business.
And finally, please, feel free to jack up the insurance costs. Want to make it really be a credit sink?!? How about using a percentage of the persons cash and bank total? Want insurance to beat most of the decay - pay 5% of your bank/cash at the time of insurance. That's fair to newbies, and fair to long timers. It penalizes someone that has a lot of credits but rewards them by (if the option was followed) protecting 100% of the items that are insured. I can assure you that losing 5% of ones "wealth" to insurance costs would hurt, but it would sure be better than having 1% decay lopped on armor. Make the death tax a credit tax instead, and suck down 10% of bank + cash upon uninsured death, along with decay on clothing and items, and you've got a serious stinging penalty. If the insurance protects the cash and credits, and makes the decay only 1% instead of say 10%, then again, insurance is "worth" having, and credits will be sucked out of the economy, sending people back out to run missions and have a reason to try to find income.
Lotussutol wrote:
and calling your users trolls does change our opinion
Don't talk for me. The poster was trolling and if you look at the post history you'll see it wasn't the first.
has a semi-retarded clone
. Which are you?"
Insured decay is a poor idea that discourages participation in the GCW. If this game is going to get its content from the GCW, you need to encourage people to participate.
I say remove all decay, insured or otherwise when a person dies overt. If the person is covert, charge them insurance but do not decay if they are insured.
This will make more people overt, and more likely to participate in the GCW, and it gives those of us who do not want to PvP/be overt an out that will keep us happy.
Have things decay by use, not through death (unless uninsured).
-Hyssthi
I'd like to add that this is a VIDEO GAME.
Some of you people take this game way, way, way too seriously. Go outside - go spend time with your families - read a book.
For god's sake stop with all the bickering, bitching, and ranting.
I read 8 posts and had enough. There's 20,000 other video games you can play if this one is so bad.
Let the development staff do their work - Personally i'd be more concerned with our Government Leaders going back on his/her words regarding our real world lives rather than the SOE.
Something too think about.
As a matter of clarification, JustG didn't call anyone a name, he just described someone's behavior, so please, if you are offended by it, you need to get over yourself and not try and get all offended just because you're a "customer." I don't buy it...
I wish the Devs actually understand that this 1% Insured Decay penalty (and the unpopularimplementation of the decay rules in general) thing has cost them the MOST ill-will and source of negativity in the game.This negativity, and generalgloomy mood is costing them players in the long run..... because it will eventuallly translate into many cancelled accounts.
Yes, many of those players who are angry, whiny,and upset tend to rant and have bitter words in the forums. But the average MMORPG player does not play an online game to remain bitter and disappointed and upset for many months. Eventually, many many numbers of them will simply reach the point of no return where they have beenjaded and burned outand finally believe that the game will never be improved to a state they find satisfying.And that is where we see many cancellations of the game as a result.
For each player thatcancels this game, Star Wars Galaxies becomes weaker in the long run. Their abandonment of SWG means less and less revenue, less investment capital, less funding to support future expansions and improvements to this game. I dont think that any true SWG or Star Wars fan really wants to see this happen, do they?
Mejowepra wrote:
JustG wrote:
*edit* - wish the boards had a spell-checker...
They do. [Check Spelling] button between [Preview Post] and [Reset].
But honestly, I have not PvP'd once since the decay came into play. I have not worn or bought any armor since then either. I have bought clothes, just so i can get some different looks, (after all a girl needs a wardrobe). I have never even bought any insurance either.
I was excited about the Crackdown event, till I heard that the 1% was still in, now, I will have to store tools and stuff like that in the bank (or a droid). I still wont wear or buy armor cause of the decay.
I dont complain at all most of the time, but comeon drop the stupid decay, it is not fun. I am tired of storing armor for display in my house.
Just my 2cents.
Violet Vette
MCM-(suicide bomber), Pistoleer, Artisan (for resources)
I still highly recommend that anyone that is upset with this non-change CANCEL your account. Even if your account is paid for a year, you can cancel now, and you can answer the survey that is provided for people that are cancelling their accounts.
At that point you can answer that the reason you are cancelling is poor customer service, and provide some additional information.
Let the bean counters see the number of cancellation spike up through the roof, and they'll race down the halls to smack the developers and game designers on their noggin's to wake up and get with the program -- deliver what the customers want, and not what the developers want to give us.
Understandably, someone back at SOE or LucasArts controls the game, and that will continue, but there are aspects in which customer feedback must play key roles. This area is one of them.
After cancelling, you are free to go right back and re-enable the account, or leave it cancelled. The account is still usable until the time for the next renewal of payment. Even if you pass that date, you can come back and get the account re-started with no loss of skills, no loss of items, no problems for your character, so the most you lose is the time to cancel and answer the survey (along with a few minutes of restarting the account with your credit card or game-card information).
The only thing that will get the changes the public wants is numbers -- subscription numbers -- and unless those numbers take a purposeful dive, nothing will change.
Meanwhile, the other suggestions about "going over their heads" by sending in snail mail or e-mail to places other than just back to the devs you can contact through these forums is also good. Snail mailed letters are valued quite highly as feedback, given that someone takes the time to write the letter, put a stamp on the envelop and send it in to some address that they found through some research. Send your complaints into SOE and to LucasArts and make your feelings known in that regard. Let the higher ups back at those companies go and ream the devs for their stupidity in implementing changes that are completely counter to the original game mechanics and design, and which have served to take the "war" aspect out of the game.
You can effect change if you put some effort into it -- even with developers that are as ignorant of their customers as the people that have posted in these forums seem to be.