Droid Engineer Archive
Thread: Fostering better DE communication or Why this DE forum needs a memory wipe...
TheRealTK421 wrote:
Fellow DEs,
Things are going to change soon.
Work will be getting done. We will get some of the long-awaited focus for which we've yearned.
It may not be the work we ALL want to see (i.e. not EVERY little DE thing may or will be addresed) and we may have speedbumps along the way...but we can handle that. We're big, tall strapping DE boys and girls. We can take it.
I would emplore everyoneon the DE forums to stay upbeat, positive and constructive. It IS the way that we will get more and better Dev communication on upcoming DE changes and initiatives.
All this comes at the worst time, as there is nothing I see coming that really compels me to stay DE. I only became DE to make droids for myself and others
Never sold to other people.
Have all the droids I need, and if i want one of the new low level combat droids I can buy one from one of the DEs i know on my server.
So unless these updates give some compelling reason to be a master (beyond new droids to make), or some kind of droid i'd need to make for myself more than once in a blue moon, im hitting the surrender button.
But I will still be a master DE for at least another couple weeks, I only hope they let out what their plans are soon so I can decide if I want to stay with this profession or not.
JustG wrote:
Folks,
Thanks so much for the positive vibe... it means all the difference. Friday we read overyour 10 questions again and tried to see how many we could solve within the boundaries of the next two publishes. We will be putting together the In Dev and In Concept posts this next week. We will also set bounds on what kind of stuff we can and can't change.
I know you have been through alot as a profession, and some of you are rather jaded, if not outright bitter. We dev's have many many many things to do, and 32 other professions to serve as well, so now that the time is here I would much rather spend our time and energy productively and positively with you. I have exchanged PM's with a couple of you and I assure you I do understand your viewpoint. Please continue to be patient with us, and I promise much more info this next week.
best,
- g
Guess I shouldve read more of the posts before I made my last one. But at least I will still be a master when they get the info out. For me, right now all the reasons I became a DE, I can still have all that I want even if im no longer a DE. Just waiting to see if there's any reson for me personally to staya master when I'm only in this for myself.
Priss sits in her workshop with her boots kicked up on the desk, leaning back in a swivel chair. Quietly whistling to herself, twiddelingher thumbs.
"I will wait and see what happens.', mumbling to herself. The sound echoing oddly off of theempty workshop walls. Factory and Droid deeds lay scattered on shelves and in backpacks. A fine layer of dust has accumulated on them.
Glances at the wall and a sad smile plays across the face. The picture is of a young woman and a small MSE droid and an R5 droid. Below is an inscription that reads: My first droid and my first buddy.
Her Datacomp sits silent in her pocket. She checks it for the millionth time, hoping for some news that her prayers are soon to be answered.
Tiiiiimmme is on my side, yes it is .............
TheRealTK421 wrote:
I don't know about evidence of the past...that's why I called for a memory wipe. I'm really asking that DEs take my word on this on faith (and that I don't get painted as fool if it turns out that you're right). I understand your trepidation.
Believe me, NO ONE has ranted more or harder on these forums (in relation to DEs and droid 'stuff')...and I know that you all know that to be the case.
TK, I know you know your stuff, and I know you're one of the more respected folks here. But we've been cutting the devs slack since launch, hoping that this would all get turned around. And we had real hope, and plenty of promises that we were being looked at, or that we'd be getting more information soon. So far, what have we gotten? The insult that was DH, the backlash that resulted, and more promises afterwards.
Many of us (dare I say most of us?) are at the end of the rope: there's no more slack to be given. Yet you want us to reel it all back in and start over. You understand, perhaps, how difficult that is.
Absolutely. The DE forums fromlaunch until early Jan. were awash with positive and constructive ideas and players. It can be that wayagain...and will have to be, if we all want the communication that we so fervently say that we want.
But therein lies the problem. We WERE a great community, and excellent ideas were bountiful. What did we see happen? Our ideas were largely ignored or misconstrued, while other professions that were less than mature received major content updating.
So it is to be expected that the line running through the collective skull of the DE community is 'the squeaky wheel gets the greasing.' Except we're still in need of an oil bath here, and what are we getting? More promises.
If we want it, we have to get back to doing our part.
Am I putting myself'out there' by making this call? Yea....maybe a bit. But I trust what Inow know and can only ask thatothers do their best to help this forum return to its past glory.
I think it's safe to say that all of us would love to trust you on this, but in turn I have to ask what proof you have. A dev PM'd you to tell you that if we act polite that stuff will happen? 'Be nice and we'll make more promises!' That's what I'm seeing here. I wish (oh how I wish!) I could bring myself to have faith in this little endeavor, but there's just no more faith to be had.
The difference.......now is our time. So, let's try to 'play nice'. It matters.
Show me the money, my friend.
Note: Olive branch requisition form has been filled out in triplicate and forwarded to the proper authorities for review and approval.
Let's not haunt TH too badly. He does have a pretty unbelievable rock to push up the hill.
If it weren't for the DH thing, and then the insult to injury that was the 'Why did you change your mind' thread, there'd be no problem here.
/bow
TyeDyeBoy wrote:
TheRealTK421 wrote:
I don't know about evidence of the past...that's why I called for a memory wipe. I'm really asking that DEs take my word on this on faith (and that I don't get painted as fool if it turns out that you're right). I understand your trepidation.
Believe me, NO ONE has ranted more or harder on these forums (in relation to DEs and droid 'stuff')...and I know that you all know that to be the case.
TK, I know you know your stuff, and I know you're one of the more respected folks here. But we've been cutting the devs slack since launch, hoping that this would all get turned around.
Actually, and I say this still with the positive aspect, I always saw it as waiting for things to get turned "on"....not around.
And we had real hope, and plenty of promises that we were being looked at, or that we'd be getting more information soon. So far, what have we gotten? The insult that was DH, the backlash that resulted, and more promises afterwards.
But that's all taken place in a relatively short period of time. We were really, really unchanged for quite a long time. I guess it's understandable. We all know that the Devs had mounts, vehicles and cities in the 'focus queue' LONG before DEs or any other profession really got a good luck. The very time time it was done was to CH and it really hit them hard (but...even the Devs will say, they needed it).
The current negativity is actually kind of a resurgence of what's occurred many times in the past. It tends to hurt a bit more since we've heard that we're getting some attention but haven't seen much about it.
Believe me...there's a big part of me that would have say everything you did in reply to my post. I consider that the part that needed the memory wipe. I want to start thinking of, and working with, good ideas again...put forth by knowledgable and positive players. That's all the Devs want. It's what this place used to be like before the collective DE 'programming' went corrupt (apparently).
Many of us (dare I say most of us?) are at the end of the rope: there's no more slack to be given. Yet you want us to reel it all back in and start over. You understand, perhaps, how difficult that is.
Yup. That being said, it should be a manifest surprise that it would be me of all people that would put out the call for a return to past glory for the DE boards. That might tell you something, I hope.
Absolutely. The DE forums fromlaunch until early Jan. were awash with positive and constructive ideas and players. It can be that wayagain...and will have to be, if we all want the communication that we so fervently say that we want.
But therein lies the problem. We WERE a great community, and excellent ideas were bountiful. What did we see happen? Our ideas were largely ignored or misconstrued, while other professions that were less than mature received major content updating.
So it is to be expected that the line running through the collective skull of the DE community is 'the squeaky wheel gets the greasing.' Except we're still in need of an oil bath here, and what are we getting? More promises.
I'd suggest trying other stuff in-game, if you haven't already. It really does help to take the 'edge' off all this.
If we want it, we have to get back to doing our part.
Am I putting myself'out there' by making this call? Yea....maybe a bit. But I trust what Inow know and can only ask thatothers do their best to help this forum return to its past glory.
I think it's safe to say that all of us would love to trust you on this, but in turn I have to ask what proof you have. A dev PM'd you to tell you that if we act polite that stuff will happen? 'Be nice and we'll make more promises!' That's what I'm seeing here. I wish (oh how I wish!) I could bring myself to have faith in this little endeavor, but there's just no more faith to be had.
I can't offer you proof. I can say, if this goes bad, I won't be around due to immediate banning with prejudice (after the end-all, be-all, over the top 'break-down' of all time).
Note: That was a joke, for you kids playing the home game.
The difference.......now is our time. So, let's try to 'play nice'. It matters.
Show me the money, my friend.
As I said...I have nothing to show or give you. I suppose if I had to point to something, it's the public nature in which droid 'focus' has been announced.
The fact that they will be working on combat balance, GCW issues and Droids right now (per the info on the SWG website) should show you that there's some serious development commitment behind this. Heck...they even HAD a bunch of stuff coded that we told them to throw away. Yes....that was their fault, for not connecting with the DE community in the way that would have avoided the DH announcement mess.
Something in me thinks they aren't exactly looking forward to that happening again. So...we get attention, focus and they DO READ THE BOARDS.
Maybe I can't stress that enough. We always joke that 'Devs don't come here'...well, they do. They can (and often do) see it all.
We don't operate in the vacuum that we once did. That's another difference from now and what occurred in the past.
Note: Olive branch requisition form has been filled out in triplicate and forwarded to the proper authorities for review and approval.
Let's not haunt TH too badly. He does have a pretty unbelievable rock to push up the hill.
If it weren't for the DH thing, and then the insult to injury that was the 'Why did you change your mind' thread, there'd be no problem here.
TH has been lambasted by members of almost every profession in the game on the boards. I'm not sure there's much of him left after the tonnage of nitpicking that goes on at his expense. Is he the perfect "Capt. Communication <ACR>"? No. No one could be.
I've been pretty critical in the past with TH, but I know his heart is in the right place...and that's what counts.
I log in every day and I check my harvesters, then check my email to see if anyone has bought anything (they haven't), or if anyone in my 40+ member guild has requested a special droid. Lately I've generally been logged in for less than 10 minutes a day, not even bothering to grind anymore, because what's the point?
To do the myriad of things possible in the game that reside outside the short little list you just gave. That's the point.
Look...
I LOVE being a DE, yes...despite all it's borkedness and strange issues. Once I opened my droid shop, that was it..I'm a DE for good (no matter what I might do). But..I don't sit around doing ONLY that in the game. If you're not exploring and myopically ( .......)focusing on playing the way you describe...I honestly think you're missing out. People are buying droids...you just have to 'cultivate', mah brothah!!!
Back in the day I joined the profession because I wanted to help it get fixed. Droids are that important to be. Now, nothing has happened aside from some minor bug fixes. I'm worn out, poor, tired, and jaded at an olympic level.
I know how you feel (except for the "poor" part). You know I do (or did). This is the kind of statement that reflects how corrupt the collective DE mindset has become over the many long moons since the last memory wipe.
Hence...the call is put out....
I'll old off on giving up what little of DE I have for a while, but until there's some actual proof, not just promises, that changes are taking place, I'll be holding on to my herculean bitterness, and won't be holding my breath.
Don't be bitter...just go have fun doing other stuff. It really IS there. I just ran off and mastered Medic and CM, did some faction stuff and Act 3, picked up admin'ing the Ahazi DENet (and working on DEA issues), etc.
There's a lot to do that can be fun (and it can still relate to droids/DE, if you want). Don't wait for fun to find you...go out and find (or make) some yourself. It works....I know.
Respectfully,
/bow
Shian_Tavkin wrote:
Ok Tk
I'll be a good girl and stop with the well earned bitterness.
Thanks...we need all the ambassadors that we can get. The dark side is strong on this board right now.
I'll do it cos YOU ask me to, I actually have faith in you (believe it or not)
Actually...I'd hope that you'd do it cause it's the right thing to do, not due to anything that I might say. I'm no one special. I wrote my first (unfinished) DE Focus threads at a very dark time...out of an attempt to stay upbeat. It was because I needed to put a positive spin on my vision, at least, where DE could be made much better.
I'm pretty sure that's all the Devs would want too.
Let's not hope that the Emperor's words don't come back to haunt us both on this ("Your faith in your friends is your weakness." - EP. 6).
But you have to understand this (and I know you do) : I an SICK and TIRED of having to give sad apologies and lame excuses to my customers who really really want to help me and themselves, they want to buy a useful droid..what we can offer is just not enough.
Yup, I understand.
Make you want to go....
...and
I'm there for ya, m'Lady.
So, we are 'In Focus' now it seems, and JustG has promised..thats promised..that things will move on positively regarding info.. so OK, for the very very last time I will believe. Not because he said so, but because you did.
Well...what I did was ask that the boards get positive again. Anger leads to hate which leads to suffering. That's what we've been doing on these boards lately (myself no exception and, at times, a shining example).
Respectfully,
JustG -
As I mentioned earlier in the thread, I think if you can give us a foundation to work from, you will find us to be very constructive.
It is critical that you give us the limits and boundaries that constrain what can be done. We understand the software limitations - a recent poll showed that a surprising (or maybe not) number of DE's are also in the IT industry in some capacity or another.
Many DE's are also very creative peeople. If you look at the modules that were suggested, you will see evidence of this.
Help us to help you. If you lower the barriers to releasing information to us even a bit, you will find a plethera of creative ideas and posts. And when somethnig isn't viable, tell us why.
It will pay off for us as DE's, it will pay off for you, and it will help the game to be more fun for everyone, and more star warsie here. After all, DE's make droids for everyone else in the game - and what can be more Star Warsie than droids?
TheRealTK421 wrote:
I'd suggest trying other stuff in-game, if you haven't already. It really does help to take the 'edge' off all this.
When I see open communication on the topics that matter to the actual play and mechanics of the Droid Engineer profession, and is not forced by self-induced crisis, I will respond accordingly.
Several times I said I was leaving the profession...but I held on... and I will continue to hold on.
If there is anything I can do to help keep the chin up... I will.
Yeah, good question...
Where is our Correspondent?
I'm beginning to think that TK is the correspondent here as much as he's been involved the last month with the community. Not that that is a bad thing at all, but one has to wonder where Drashk has been.
Drashk took a lot of flak for being vocal. He's probably around, lurking. I'm sure he'll post as soon as he knows something.
Puck_Starfire wrote:
Yeah, good question...
Where is our Correspondent?
I'm beginning to think that TK is the correspondent here as much as he's been involved the last month with the community. Not that that is a bad thing at all, but one has to wonder where Drashk has been.