Ranger Archive
Thread: SOE responds to CU revolt?
Oreet wrote:
Wow, it was posted by John Smedley, President of SOE.
reading this has in no way changed my opinion of the CU, or the direction the game is heading, and I still intend on quitting in June when the accounts run out.
But it is nice to see that someone from SOE has actually acknowledged that a large part of the userbase is upset and doesn't like the CU.
Let's see here -
The Alpha test was a paperdrill - no actual physical testing, just chosen people reading what was proposed. The chosen read and proposed changes. We were not listened to.
Beta comes out. Beta is not like what was proposed in alpha. Fact is, beta is a mish mash of some alpha, some ideas, some leftover programming from who knows where. According to the polls, not many liked beta. Beta was buggy. Beta caused crashes. So Beta, flawed as it was, was pushed to live. Can you say Episode 3 is coming out and they had to hurry?? (Which, if you think about it, is sorta dumb. We know how it ends. Is there anyone who doesn't know Anakin is Darth? That the Duke must die in order for Anakin to be made a Sith? Or do I assume too much? But I digress)
Personally, I can adapt to anything. I spent a month in Alaska at -70 and a month later was in Panama. This situation is analagous. I was kicking big butt in the old game, solo, with Master Ranger and Master Pistols. Now I am slowy learning to kick butt and in the post-CU world. Somethings are different, like no more Master Pistols. Tactics and traps are way more important. I even respeced to a class that I always thought was filled with dullards (I was correct, but can be the exception to the rule).
I am going to give the game a fair chance. Crafters are taking it in the shorts right now. So are other professions. Things will change if the Devs listen. If they don't, well, then the game will go down the toidy and the mass exodus will continue. I have had two very good friends leave the game, personal stuff coupled with the CU was the reason. One will be back, the other I don't know. Again, I will wait some time.
So there it is. The fate of the galaxy is in the hands of Devs, who live on warm sodas and cold pizza. (I hope that is not flamming, it is the truth.) We shall see
JB
DaveG wrote:
Smed wrote:
Hello Everyone,
We realize that the recent Combat Upgrade has caused quite a stir. Yes, we've seen the petition. Yes, we're reading your emails very carefully.. in fact I've responded to many of you personally. From our perspective the Combat Upgrade was a crucial thing for us to do for the long term health of the game. In order to make the experience in SWG morediverse and to breathe new life into this game we felt it was important for us to entirely overhaul the current system and to make sure that it's balanced properly. Are we finished? Not by a longshot... by doing this what we've effectively done is to provide a new baseline to add a lot of new content into the game in a very short time, and to make sure that the professions really mean something in the game. We recognize there are problems that have arisen from this, and what I'd like to ask your help in doing is to target these problems so that we can knock them down very quickly. As you've seen in the last few days, the team is working tirelessly towards fixing any problems that have arisen.. and with your help we're confident we can get the rest of them taken care of as well.
Please understand that we love this game too.. our goal wasn't to upset the existing userbase.. but we do recognize that changing a game does inherently mean some people aren't going to like that change. What we're trying to do is to insure that we can accomplish a lot of what you've all been asking us to do (things like Galactic Civil War) in really cool and meaningul ways.. and frankly speaking, we just couldn't do that with the old combat system in place.
What would really help us is to give us ideas on how we can improve the new system and cool things you would like to see us do in the near term. We aren't going back to the old system, but with your help I'm confident in a few weeks you're going to feel this was the right call. Obviously you are our customers, and you pay the bills around here... we're trying to make changes that are going to make your experience better in the long run. Please bear with us while we make that effort, and give us a little time to respond and address your concerns.
Thanks a lot,
John Smedley
President, Sony Online Entertainment
If you want our help, then stop censoring us as if we're living in a country where free speech is a bad thing.
Edit: Oh, and please instruct your employees to stop ignoring the polls they give us. Combat revamp (no, it isn't an upgrade) beta test polls showed consistent disapproval, yet not only did you publish it regardless, you published it out early. I hope you can see how much of a slap in the face that was the beta testers.
Furthermore, if you'd listened to us in the first place you wouldn't have had so much upset customers and cancelled subscriptions. Also, don't be afraid of going back to some things in the old system, it wasn't fundamentally flawed, it just had some balance issues (such as armour and buffs). The whole implication of the (fundamentally) new system is that non-combat professions are marginalised, the level system completely unbalances EVERYTHING, and combat professions have actually been homogenised (given that special moves are not limited by the weapon you're holding).
So to summerise, SOE have treated it's customers appaulingly, and it has thrown away a completely salvagable combat system in favour of a fundamentally flawed combat system. The new system cannot be signficantly improved by "hotfixes", it needs to be fundamentally changed.
Message Edited by DaveG on 05-04-2005 11:35 PM
JBMat wrote:Let's see here -
The Alpha test was a paperdrill - no actual physical testing, just chosen people reading what was proposed. The chosen read and proposed changes. We were not listened to.
Beta comes out. Beta is not like what was proposed in alpha. Fact is, beta is a mish mash of some alpha, some ideas, some leftover programming from who knows where. According to the polls, not many liked beta. Beta was buggy. Beta caused crashes. So Beta, flawed as it was, was pushed to live. Can you say Episode 3 is coming out and they had to hurry?? (Which, if you think about it, is sorta dumb. We know how it ends. Is there anyone who doesn't know Anakin is Darth? That the Duke must die in order for Anakin to be made a Sith? Or do I assume too much? But I digress)
Personally, I can adapt to anything. I spent a month in Alaska at -70 and a month later was in Panama. This situation is analagous. I was kicking big butt in the old game, solo, with Master Ranger and Master Pistols. Now I am slowy learning to kick butt and in the post-CU world. Somethings are different, like no more Master Pistols. Tactics and traps are way more important. I even respeced to a class that I always thought was filled with dullards (I was correct, but can be the exception to the rule).
I am going to give the game a fair chance. Crafters are taking it in the shorts right now. So are other professions. Things will change if the Devs listen. If they don't, well, then the game will go down the toidy and the mass exodus will continue. I have had two very good friends leave the game, personal stuff coupled with the CU was the reason. One will be back, the other I don't know. Again, I will wait some time.
So there it is. The fate of the galaxy is in the hands of Devs, who live on warm sodas and cold pizza. (I hope that is not flamming, it is the truth.) We shall see
JB
Yeah, I'm with spiky on this one.
All you can do is play the game that's in front of you. If the changes really are unbearable, well, and I don't mean this in a flamy trolly way, but if you're not having fun, get off the bus. It really isn't smart to keep paying for something you no longer enjoy. You can always come back if and when its all fixed.
Now this next bit is especialy aimed at my ranger colleagues. Guys, and ladies, we got by under the old system not by being uber, not by being relentless harvesting machines, but by being smart. Picking your fights, getting in where you know you can get back out with your hide intact.
Yes, the game is, compared to the old system, seriously out of whack, but unless you happen to be a major shareholder in SOE, LA or are George, the dev's is gonna do just what the dev's is gonna do. Don't expend so much energy hating the changes. It's not smart, it won't change them. All we CAN do is identify what is busted in relation to our profession and push like heck to get it fixed.
Just like we've been doing since Outdoorsman 1.
I'm sorry guys, but I'm having fun with the CU!
Yeah, there are some bugs, yeah we get our upgrade "in the near future", and yeah, the devs don't know what to do with Ranger...
I'm doing things in the CU that I couldn't do pre-CU eg. solo'ing Krayt Dragons (juvie to ancient)
Like someonesaid earlier, we adapt and perservere with what we have, because we are Rangers and that is what we do.
Perhaps im in the minority group here but i love the CU and havnt had this much fun since the first few weeks of SWG.
What excites me the most is what is possible with this new system in regards to new content. Believe me, you take a look around Rotw and you will know exactly what i mean. That sort of content couldnt be done effectivelly with the old system, this new combat system allows them to do so much more and that excites the hell out of me.
Also lots of friends have been having similar experiences. I say just sit tight and play around with it for a bit, you may love it.
Owen-Lars wrote:
Perhaps im in the minority group here but i love the CU and havnt had this much fun since the first few weeks of SWG.
Masochist! 
Owen-Lars wrote:
What excites me the most is what is possible with this new system in regards to new content. Believe me, you take a look around Rotw and you will know exactly what i mean. That sort of content couldnt be done effectivelly with the old system, this new combat system allows them to do so much more and that excites the hell out of me.
Yeah, but that only means that one can only take advantage of this eledgedly great content if they buy another expansion. That's no good is it? Especially when people's main reference on what they'd get for their money is how SWG plays without it, given how things are, people have little reason to buy an expansion for a game they're not enjoying.
Okay though, I'll bite. What exactlyIS possible in this new system that wasn't in the old system? and why?
Message Edited by DaveG on 05-05-2005 02:03 AM
Almagill wrote:
Yeah, I'm with spiky on this one.
All you can do is play the game that's in front of you. If the changes really are unbearable, well, and I don't mean this in a flamy trolly way, but if you're not having fun, get off the bus. It really isn't smart to keep paying for something you no longer enjoy. You can always come back if and when its all fixed.
True, but the thing is, a lot of people are pre-payed upto a few months in the future. So not only do they feel they're not getting what they've paid for (i.e. the game they've paid for has been deleted), but they've got to put up with something they seriously dislike for the rest of that period, either that or they just don't play, even though they've already paid for that time. The latter is what I'm doing currently.
What's more, people are irate about the way in which SOE is doing business, handling it's customers. I would venture to say it's for that same reason JB isn't a correspondant anymore.
Message Edited by DaveG on 05-05-2005 01:57 AM
After the bugs are worked out and Ranger gets their revamp I may be back. But for now I cant in good conscience betatest this game or pay them another dime. They just havent earned it.
(Can anyone tell I figured out how to post from Firefox again? lol
)
KaiRaene wrote:
(Can anyone tell I figured out how to post from Firefox again? lol
I saw this yesterday...
Personally I love the CU. I am relly enjoying the game and am particularly excited about trying PvP. I also had some great luck with the conversion and most of my guild has been pleasently surprised as well.
I do reserve the right to get angry in the near future, but I think the CU really is moving the game forward positively. I just wish they'd fix alot of the bugs a bit faster.