Droid Engineer Archive

Thread: OUCH! THAT HURT!

TheRealTK421
Sun Apr 11, 2004 12:23 am
#53

Killer,

The type of situation you describe was an example of what has altered how they deal with the overall forum community.

A perfect example of this change is that they came to us with the Crafting Experimentation change that was in Publish 7 for one day.

They put it forth to gauge reaction and, when the community mostly said "No.", they removed it the day after P7 went Live.


I expect that larger issues will see this same kind of situation down the line, as the Devs are seeing the benefits of getting feedback from users via these types of 'sounding board' situations. Note: The Corrs. are often utilized in the same fashion.


As for "timely" feedback....the issue there becomes that some questions/items/issues simply have to be investigated and/or discussed at length. It simply takes time. Yes......it's no fun that it takes time. But it does.

Many people here have an expectation that working on this game is like saying "Go to moon. Get rock."



There's simply details that have to be worked out before they can be talked about (even in the 'open').

/shrug



/bow

Respectfully,




TheRealTK421 a.k.a. "Doughbacca"
SWG DE Correspondent
Co-Founding member of Ahazi DENet & SWG DEA (Droid Engineer Association)
"I think all right-thinking people in this country are sick and tired of being told that ordinary, decent people are fed up in this country with being sick and tired. ...I'm certainly not. And I'm sick and tired of being told that I am."


TheRealTK421
Sun Apr 11, 2004 7:56 am
#54






Sinnare wrote:

Tk do you have any idea HOW LONG this community has been waiting, BETA, before Sin was corro.


No...I'm sorry, I don't. I've been totally absent from theDE forum discussions in the last few months.

/sarcasm off

Please, Sinnare....I know you're frustrated...but don't try to tellme that I don't know how long the DEs have been waiting.



Your analagy of going to moon doesnt fly, well actually it does cause they go to the moon and get rocks and come back alot quicker then they have done anything with de. Sorry they have failed miserably and defending them puts you right there with them.


I'm sorry you feel that way, Sinnare. Do you not think that I do what I do for the good of all DEs?


What kind of wonderful things could come along frankly?


You'll find out pretty soon. And, I do personally see a few of the things as "wonderful".


They have taken away low lvl pets totally, Low lvl droids.


The CL13 combat droids will be gettnig adjusted (via changes to the combat modules) to make them more effective and attractive vis a vis BE creature pets. So, there will be more balance for this low- to mid-level combat droid market. (Note: No precise ETA but I believe this will be pushed with Publish 8 to TC.)


Seriously tell me one single time you ever see anyone using a droid or pet that isnt a ch in this game.


Uhhhh....well, I do (for one). I used my new Probot on Yavin just a couple of nights ago to crank out some damage while I solo'd some Unarmed XP.


[snip]


Yeh there are utility droids coming, a r2 with disko lights ARE YOU KIDDING ME. Who thought that gem up.


Maybe there's more coming than you think. Ever consider that?


And frankly your position as corospondent didnt come from your wonderful thought out posts in the beggining it came from the sucking up that was done after you said what you really felt back when your words actually meant somthing.


Actually, my position came from seeing a LOT of people step up and nominate me for a position that I didn't pine over. I felt like I could help to move us forward in a good way (on several fronts), so I accepted the job.

If you don't like how I've been doing things so far, please feel free to offer suggestions or comments either here or via PM.

Realize, however, that I only correspond to/with the Devs. I don't control our destiny (far from it
).


For your own benefit quit this scam of a post you hold and save what respect people still have for you.


If the DEs really want me to step down, I will. To be honest, it's getting a bit tiring to try to bear our 'flag' when I've already lost the confidence of a lot of DEs that I respect. True, I'm not perfect (no one is)...but I know that I was once much more trusted than I used to be. It's pretty disheartening to feel like I want to help all DEs and then get berated over my best intentions and 'work'.

I guess I don't see why people think that I've changed to a degree that I would be making bad/stupid decisions in regard to simply corresponding. The Devs ultimately control what happens to us, despite the best info, proposals or arguments we might have with them on any given issue.


[snip]


Sorry for the rant but i respect your posts of the past, one of the few i truely thought had some meaning when they wrote, but recently its nothing more then a thunder pawn.


If you respected my intent/comments and opinions of the past, then I can only ask that you trust that I'm doing what I can to move us all forward.

You don't really think that I'd do all that I have (in the past posts, DENet / DEA stuff, etc.) and then try to somehow assassinate the DE profession when I'm finally in a position to do what I can to move us forward....

....................................do you?

Is that really what you're suggesting (cause it sure sounds like it)?

I know you're frustrated, Sinnare. No one knows what that feels like more than I.


Best Regards


Sinsins




/bow

Respectfully,






TheRealTK421 a.k.a. "Doughbacca"
SWG DE Correspondent
Co-Founding member of Ahazi DENet & SWG DEA (Droid Engineer Association)
"I think all right-thinking people in this country are sick and tired of being told that ordinary, decent people are fed up in this country with being sick and tired. ...I'm certainly not. And I'm sick and tired of being told that I am."


rj00789
Sun Apr 11, 2004 8:39 am
#55

TK,
Hang in there man! I for one knew EXACTLY what would happen to ANYONE that took the thankless DE corespondant position. There's a FEW DE's that try to offer constructive criticism,while remaining positive and trying to achieve a better DE profession! The rest seem content to just rip on everything and everyone that tells them anything they don't wanna hear! Bottom line though is we have only ourselves to blame for our current position. The Dev's had a plan to get high-level droids into the game and we shamed them into retracting there ideas,and demanded more utility instead. Well alot of developement time went into plan A, and so now plan B had to be rushed in and here we are griping about what we didnt get! Please lets not ruin whats left of the profession with constant negativity! I am still a master DE, I enjoy the crafting aspect of it and DO wish that utility droids had a much bigger place in this game. Hopefully the info that TK has to keep quiet about till he has permission to release it, will give us something to be happy about! I fear however it that it doesn't really matter what they come up with for pub 8, it still wont be enough to turn the DE forums back into the positive, idea producing machine it once was! I also want high level combat droids in the game and will most likely follow that tree if it ever gets approved. On that note we have to understand that we will never get extra checkers and move on to make the DC/DH ours! Please people for the love of DE, stop shooting the messenger (TK) and focus on moving forward, not living in the past! Lets take a positive step in that direction, and I'm sure with TK's help we can bring the Dev's back to our forum and take care of business! I know that there are those that will say I'm just kissin DEV and Corespondant butt here, but I'm really just trying to wake up and smell the coffee! We have seen times where DEVS were very active on our forums and now they never come here and I wouldn't either if I were them! Lets get em back before its too late!!!!!

/end rant


respectfully , Peyote Master DE Flurry
AudioOrgana
Sun Apr 11, 2004 9:13 am
#56














TheRealTK421 wrote:








No...I'm sorry, I don't. I've been totally absent from theDE forum discussions in the last few months.

/sarcasm off


TK - you honestly would not know that from your posts. And, in fact, you have been largely absent - we had your whole "let's just be cheerful" phase, then for about two days you were actually TK again, and then poof! I haven't seen TK for weeks.

Please, Sinnare....I know you're frustrated...but don't try to tellme that I don't know how long the DEs have been waiting.


Then don't ask us to swallow all your PR laced spin. Deal? Don't act like this is the beginning of something, because for most it's the end.

You'll find out pretty soon. And, I do personally see a few of the things as "wonderful".


Couldn't go ONE post, could ya? Well, again - it's great for you - we know nothing. The community is getting utter silence on the issues.



Maybe there's more coming than you think. Ever consider that?


Again, glad you felt like rubbing our faces in it, TK. Yup, we know - you are the info king. That's wonderful for you.


Actually, my position came from seeing a LOT of people step up and nominate me for a position that I didn't pine over. I felt like I could help to move us forward in a good way (on several fronts), so I accepted the job.


Yes, they nominated TK. Not whomever you have become now. Someone to fight FOR us, not to placate us. Go and read the thread where people dicussed it - they nominated you because they thought you'd have the **self-edit** to stand up for us, not to play a patsy. If you will notice, I didn't vote in that thread - because I saw all this coming. I just let it be for a few weeks, but when you post things like you have done in this thread, TK, you can't expect to not be called on it. I mean, come ON...the things you have said I just imagine you typing and trying to keep a straight face at the same time. Either you are truly so blinded by the glory of your position you don't see it, or you don't care - I'm not sure which is worse, to be honest. In either case - it's becoming about your myopic view of things, in which you forget (as people have tried to tell you in this thread, yet you completely ignore) that the view from out here SUCKS. It doesn't matter how good your view is - ours SUCKS. How more blatantly can I put it, TK?


Remember when you posted TH's private comments to you (http://forums.station.sony.com/swg/board/message?board.id=droid_engineer&message.id=68017&highlight=bent+over+backwards#M68017) and preceeded to make fun of it, calling it a "whitewash" and continued throughout the thread? That was within a DAY of you getting nominated. This was a month ago, TK. How can anyone trust what you say, or not see the vast changes that make our heads spin? A few days before THAT you had your little "gnorts" episode, where your opinion was reversed...again. And before that...need we go on?

If you don't like how I've been doing things so far, please feel free to offer suggestions or comments either here or via PM.


It's really easy TK : step 1, drop the attitude. Step 2 - listen to players and express our concerns without degrading them or offering your sunny side view of things constantly (which have little relevance to us as working DE's), and step 3 stop being a spin doctor for every bit of information. It's gotten so that reading your posts remind me of thatcheerleader in Grease who runs around getting yearbook signatures - the things you say are so way out there that it is nearly impossible to take you seriously at this point.

Realize, however, that I only correspond to/with the Devs. I don't control our destiny (far from it
).


No, but you control what you say - and when we have you out here pooh-poohing our concerns (like on the chassis issue), how can we expect that our true concerns are being represented? How can we trust in you as a correspondent if we can't even get you to get past your myopic view and see what it looks like from out here. The view from out here SUCKS, remember? That's what people are trying to tell you.


If the DEs really want me to step down, I will. To be honest, it's getting a bit tiring to try to bear our 'flag' when I've already lost the confidence of a lot of DEs that I respect. True, I'm not perfect (no one is)...but I know that I was once much more trusted than I used to be. It's pretty disheartening to feel like I want to help all DEs and then get berated over my best intentions and 'work'.


Well, TK, you began to loose my trust when you got a PM from a little gnort (very simmilar to several that I recieved) and flip-flopped because a Dev gave you some attention. We have seen the exact same situation here - only increased tenfold.The attitude you present has flip-flopped until now, when it finally has flopped - andI don't know how you can read what you write and not see it. You can give us all the garbage about "oh, i know better now! it changed me!", but we can see the seeds of this change and watch them grow - and it ain't new "information" that changed it, it's attention - it started immediately.



I guess I don't see why people think that I've changed to a degree that I would be making bad/stupid decisions in regard to simply corresponding. The Devs ultimately control what happens to us, despite the best info, proposals or arguments we might have with them on any given issue.


Because EVERY SINGLE POST you make is tinged with Dev-love, TK.


You are faulted for the attitude you present to us. Earlier in this thread you said "I don't want people to think there is silence..." well, DUH, TK - I'm sorry to be so blunt - but it must be nice to live on your correspondent planet, but for the rest of us, it's horrible silence.


And we have you every day telling us, "Oh, I know - it's gonna be cool!" - do you not see how infinitly frigging aggriviating that is?


Really TK, you can play the victim all you want, but reading through your posts anyone who has 1/2 a brain can see it.


It's a shame that you are so blinded you cannot.


AO








Message Edited by AudioOrgana on 04-11-2004 12:27 PM

AudioOrgana
Sun Apr 11, 2004 11:15 am
#57






Glantor wrote:

What do you think?






I agree with much of what you wrote (though not all).


There are two seperate issues here which are being confused : 1) the utter silence from the Dev team regarding the future of droid engineering (which was supposed to be now) and 2) the attitude TK presents in threads like this where he denies the fact that we are getting zero information, the constant "I know but you don't" crap, and the way in which TK has replied to many concerns with smiley happy "But we are getting droid power meters!".


I wouldn't want the job, because the change has to happen internally with the Devs - we have NOTHING to do with it externally, which is again something TK doesn't quite seem to get because he thinks the devs are justified in not talking to us because we are a "snake pit". Well, read what I said above. 1+1=2. This ain't rocket science.


TK has no power over this, but he does have power over how he posts. Some people say that we are blaming the messenger for the bad news/lack of news - that's not true. However, TK has signifigantly added to the frustration level as many people have outlined in this thread which has just added salt to many wounds.


AO


Message Edited by AudioOrgana on 04-11-2004 02:16 PM

Gavvot
Sun Apr 11, 2004 11:39 am
#58

TK, I think the reaction of AO, and other people here to you is based on one thing :
Your attitude of saying what you can, basically, something is coming and it looks great to you, is somehow the perfect exemple of the biggest problem we yall about for ages :
The communication issue.

Let's face it, the biggest problem for DE is not item storage not working on some chasis or color customization not working, it's the one way communication.

This should be considered as bug n°1 on the bug list.

I though the new structure of the forum was made to solve that problem. It's now pretty obvious, it's not working at all.

In computer program development, the waterfall approach as been dropped long time ago by almost every one. Maybe it's time for SOE to drop it too.



--
How to make a link in those forums
Look sir, droids. -4689 3336, Naboo, Theed
Glantor
Sun Apr 11, 2004 11:49 am
#59

*nods* I agree that he should stop teasing us, that cheeky wookie. Hey TK, stop showing off your ability to get inside info with your correspondent powers! *relates Correspondent to Jedi* If only I was a bounty hunter . . . =P


I am quite disappointed with the "Silent treatment" that the devs are dishing out now. Especially when we see other boards getting the Dev love and not us. However, I do believe TK when he says that the devs ARE watching the boards. They just fear posting here because of a few "Whoops, I did it again" stuff which they said, like JustG and TH's comments that have become a few member's signatures, lol.


What we can do is try to provide a more positive environment, thenhopefully the devs will come back again. These two publishes are, after all, dedicated to DEs, so I do have an expectation that at least one or two devs will post here. I think most of us have that expectation as well.


Which brings me to the point about expectations. People are disappointed because they have certain expectations which were not met. We expect devs to post here since these two publishes are dedicated to us, but it was not met. We expected droid invasion to spell the entry of uber droids, that was not met. We expect a reason to be provided by the devs for rejecting Sodan's proposal, that was not met. All these unfulfilled expectations brought about the disappointment that we feel now, which lead to the current situation the board is facing now.


There are two solutions to this problem.

1) Devs fulfill our expectations
2) We remove these expectations


Seeing that we cannot influence what the devs will do, we have little choice but to alter our own expectations. It is only after we do this that we can start looking at things from a fresh perspective, and try to make the best of what we've got. Game theory . . .do what you think is best for you, given what the other party will do. John Nash,A Beautiful Mind, lovely story/movie. =)


If the hard approach of ranting and flaming does not work, perhaps we can try an alternative soft approach of being so optimistic and helpful that they have no choice but to improve our profession. In the end, everyone will win. Collaboration, not compromise.


Devs screw up ---> flame them till they are well done --> Devs do nothing --> end of story

Devs screw up ---> Provide solutions and forgive them --> Devs learn, feel bad and correct mistake --> everyone happy


We have to make the best of what we've got right now. Flogging a dead horse is kinda therapeutic (??), but in the end it achieves nothing. I'm not asking everyone to suddenly become totally obliging and docile, goodness gracious me, no way! I'm just asking for more priority being placed on being constructive instead of destructive, a shift of focus from the current direction so to speak. There is always hope, we all learned that from the show we all love. Maybe some furry friends will jump down from the trees and knock some sense into the devs, I dunno. But we cannot let the adversities drive us down! We are tougher than that! We are DEs! =P



Glantor Soulbearer (In Game Name)
Master Droid Engineer (Since December '03)
Glantor's Gallery at -4947, -5788 Tatooine, Sandstorm Metropolis
---------------------------------------------
Need a droid on Starsider? For the best custom droids that
won't burn a hole in your pocketbook, holomail glantor now!
FREE CONSULTATION AND ADVICE =)
Shadow71
Sun Apr 11, 2004 1:37 pm
#60

/agree Glantor

Iree
KzinKiller
Sun Apr 11, 2004 1:47 pm
#61


A perfect example of this change is that they came to us with the Crafting Experimentation change that was in Publish 7 for one day.

They put it forth to gauge reaction and, when the community mostly said "No.", they removed it the day after P7 went Live.




If I were a dev I wouldn't be bragging about that example at all, TK. A change that had previously been rejected wholeheartedly by the crafting community was re-introduced, shot down again, and pulled, wasting resources to both put it up & take it down. If communication were functioning at all in this process, they would have clearly known what the opinion of the community was before wasting the precious resources they so obviously don't have enough of.





*
The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them
Albert Einstein

CU-1 ... CU-2 ... CUL8R
AudioOrgana
Mon Apr 12, 2004 7:01 am
#62

[Edit : double post]

Message Edited by AudioOrgana on 04-12-2004 10:18 AM

AudioOrgana
Mon Apr 12, 2004 7:18 am
#63









Glantor wrote:

Seeing that we cannot influence what the devs will do, we have little choice but to alter our own expectations. It is only after we do this that we can start looking at things from a fresh perspective, and try to make the best of what we've got. Game theory . . .do what you think is best for you, given what the other party will do. John Nash,A Beautiful Mind, lovely story/movie. =)


If the hard approach of ranting and flaming does not work, perhaps we can try an alternative soft approach of being so optimistic and helpful that they have no choice but to improve our profession. In the end, everyone will win. Collaboration, not compromise.





Glantor, with all due respect - been there, done that.


I'm sorry, but I'm not going to lower my expectations that are not based on wishes but promises made by the Dev team to the Droid Engineering community since beta.


As long as SOE touts in every single print interview I see how honest, caring, and reactive they are to the community, I am going to hold them to it.


Perhaps you should read through the DE forum archives - you will see hundreds and hundreds of polite and super-constructive threads which were ignored.


The ball is entirely in the Devs court. They are the ones who caused this situation, not us.


As I said in another thread, the Devs complaining about the environment here is like yelling at the hungry dog who is barking at you because you don't feed him. Feed the damn dog, voilla! The hungry dog becomes happy dog.


Really, it's that simple. They are wholly responsible for the nature of the DE forums, because we get one or two cryptic lines abou our profession every few months, old postings by former correspondents are deleted, and we are the focus of not one but TWO major publishes yet their contact with the community is non-existent.


The biggest issue is that we have zero information with which to make our decisions, and in this thread we have our correspondent telling people they are wrong when we say we are in the middle of deafening silence. How much more out of touch from the Droid community can you get?


With the exception of Sintrosi's deleted plan (which wasn't even a red-name posting, simply authorized) I could scribble on the back of my hand every single sentence ever said about Droid Engineering by the Devs - and have room for several other professions.


What adds insult to injury is that this is our big focus - and we are being told to BLINDLY waste our time trying to make up new ideas for the profession, for many months or years down the road, and they won't even tell us what was "unbalanced" about the last one. And, again, we have our correspondent out here DEFENDING that position ("Um, that might lead to...actual informed discussion" is NOT an excuse to hold back information).


In other words, they'd rather us waste our time desigining a system they should be paying people to do in the first place - us spending hundreds or maybe even thousands of man-hours on something (Like Sodan's plan, which I was in the process of helping him rewrite when they sent TK out with the "balance - kthxbye" note) when they WON'T EVEN GIVE US THE FRICKIN' CRITERIA BY WHICH THEIR DECISION WILL BE MADE?


I'm sorry, but this all just adds up, issue after issue, time after time; it's not any of these things singularly, it's all of them together and the fact that they never stop.


Not that it matters, since virtually every other Veteran DE has quit - I'm sure some people on the inside must be tickled pink about that. A whole new batch of players to get to do fake development work in the dark just to keep you occupied until they next time DE's get "attention" in the form of nerfs and useless crap, and those people quit and it starts again...


It's so sad that more people don't understand that the Devs need to be kept at their word, and that what they espouse in interviews needs to be pointed out when they act contrary. If more people stood up instead of backed down or given up, or if the Devs would just ACTUALLY TALK TO US and not hide behind the correspondent position, things would be much different - it's a shame that ego and personal feelings interfere with what should be a business relationship and the Dev team cannot deal with our community in an open, honest way.


What you fail to realize in your progression :


("Devs screw up ---> Provide solutions and forgive them --> Devs learn, feel bad and correct mistake --> everyone happy")


Is that it's just not true - we have been there, done that, again. They don't feel bad - they continue to make the mistakes over and over because they got away with it the last time. We have seen this over and over and over in the DE forum and every other board. In fact, it just gets worse.


So it's a nice thought, but for them to "feel bad" enough to change their ways hasn't happened yet, and us rolling over and taking it from behind yet again isn't going to make it happen either.


AO
Glantor
Mon Apr 12, 2004 7:18 am
#64

Ok, tell ya what . . . we can approach this in two fronts then. Onefront consists ofa bunchwho aresuper positive and constructive, and the other front will be the ones holding whips to keep the devs in check. Sorta like bringing the balance back to the Force.


Afew days ago, all I could read in the first few pages were rants and more rants, which brought my morale really low. My morale got so low in fact that I finally decided to do something about it. And that is to be super-positive in contrast to the super-negative. At least now, there is a nice balance between rants and constructive posts, which makes me glad. =)


The devs have made a mistake of giving us the silent treatment and thinking all their problems will go away. That I have to agree with you 100%. In any relationship, it is much better to talk over your problems, rather than keeping quiet about it and wishing it will go away. In fact, the silent treatment is more damaging in the end. Perhaps someone can write a letter to SOE and introduce them to some seminars on how to handle public relations . . . the silent treatment will definitely NOT be recommended, lol.


Perhaps we shouldn't just focus our energies within this little man-made box called the forums. Down here, customer relationship people from SOE won't even take a peek due to the sheer size and complexity of it. The people who run this place are Devs, who are not exactly trained in customer relationships. We are on their turf down here. If we really want to make a difference, perhaps everyone who is majorly upset can send a complaint letter directly to Lucasarts and SOE? One won't make a dent, but a whole bunch of them would! We are paying customers after all, and have every right to complain to the relevant sources. If Devs don't listen to us, perhaps Customer Relations will.



Glantor Soulbearer (In Game Name)
Master Droid Engineer (Since December '03)
Glantor's Gallery at -4947, -5788 Tatooine, Sandstorm Metropolis
---------------------------------------------
Need a droid on Starsider? For the best custom droids that
won't burn a hole in your pocketbook, holomail glantor now!
FREE CONSULTATION AND ADVICE =)
Kilarny
Mon Apr 12, 2004 8:00 am
#65

Bah!
Still comes down to GIGO*.


















*GIGO - Garbage In, Garbage Out


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