Four Years (or, Why free passes re: development have to stop)

We are hiring a new quest designer, as was recently promoted here: https://www.shroudoftheavatar.com/?p=71031#Jobs

 

Please read the Quarterly Updates, watch the postmortem livestreams, etc. We're about as transparent as any developer studio can be, and do are very best to make this happen.

 

I always like to look back at the roadmap around the time of the final wipe to see how things are progressing

https://www.shroudoftheavatar.com/forum/index.php?threads/roadmap.52342/#post-570922

 

I don't feel "free pass" is correct. For me it is just business. When a home contractor does work and then comes forward with an unfortunate reality check, I believe the best approach is to deal with the cituation on business terms.

Complaining is more likely to yield a mutuality negative end result. I am not criticizing this or any other complaints. I am only paying attention to which party has the most to lose. If port up and quits, they just go and get a new job, but we are at a complete loss.

 

I might have missed some things but I did not see any PvP updates in the roadmap, maybe a few combat things. I will look again though. I do not have much time being as I have to work 4 months out of the year just to pay my taxes.
Edit: Yep, just skipped over the Q2 2017 thread and no mention of pvp anywhere.

 

You're missing one thing.
A home contractor will have to work with plans. Plans that you gave him.
If he doesn't follow, your plan. He wont get paid and you can even sue him.
Negativity is not the answer but bury your head in the sand is not the answer either.

And the reality check could be more intense for the devs than us.
For us, it's a product. For them, it's a job and sometimes, a passion.

 

I hear people say this a lot. Actually it might even be stated a few times in this month old thread that serves no purpose.

Negativity isn't the answer. Burying your head in the sand on issues also isn't the answer. So what is the answer?

The answer is that people need to be constructive in their postings. Not 100% of the time, but for some people who post 50 times per day, they really could just post one solid, constructive post instead of just ranting and it would be a greater help in almost every case. This forum needs a section for rants, so threads like this aren't in the limelight of General D soaking up everyone's attention for months on end. Not only that, but even the few constructive comments in this thread are quickly buried by the almost-flame-wars of whoever it might be at the time.

It's no surprise that so many players are overly emotional about SotA, given that there's a significant real money investment for a lot of players, and also because the game isn't finished, with many crash bugs over the last years of development. It only makes sense for this forum to have a section for rants, more than any other game I've ever played. But then you'll anger the (insert whichever MMO) shills who just want the game to fail, and for some reason we cater to them instead of fixing the problem. Makes zero sense to me.

 

Well said @jammaplaya.

 

Yeah I agree with some of the points you brought up. It's impossible to get 100% constructive posts all the time like you mentioned. I'm personally not not too worried about the emotional bit.

However, I don't think all negative posts are rants, they're equally as useful/pointless as some positive posts. People just need a place to post their views. I posted this in a thread that's been deleted (mildly irritating to have posts disappear). I believe that the majority of the people who post regularly here (regardless of negative/positive) care about the game but just go about it in different ways. The majority of posters post their views (negative and positive) because they want the game to be better.

Loosely speaking (and lots of generalisation), I think negative posters criticize because they think that it ensures that the developers understand that there is a problem that needs to be fixed. They sometimes err on being too negative, complaining without regard to the feelings of the developers or the community which can generate unhappy feelings.

Positive posters choose to affirm actions of the developers that they like and feel that the community benefits from the positive thinking and will probably help in retaining players. They sometimes err on being too positive, glossing over faults and/or making promises on behalf of the developers.

If we all go around thinking that all negative posters just want the game to fail, and all positive posters are just ignoring facts and want to get in the developers good books, That kind of thinking won't promote any kind of civil discussion. Tailor your discussion to suit the audience/theme of the thread. (Try not to go into a positive thread and start angry ranting, or go into a negative thread and sweep issues under a rug (free passes) )

 

Every time I come to this forum it's the same thing. The top three posts are always negative rants with thousands of views and hundreds of bumps. It's always the same group of people keeping them at the top.

Just look at the total views. One thread here has more views than the entire first 3 pages of general discussion. This is because most people that are still coming to this forum are the types of non-constructive people who enjoy the drama or are new players. It's the opposite of what good community growth looks like.

It's not unheard of to have a section for rants, plenty of other MMO forums do, especially the games with PvP. Giving these threads their own section will help keep new players interested, and help keep everyone constructive, because they might get a few more likes or replies when they're that much more visible. IMO it's a necessary first step into building a more constructive community, which will help reduce the amount of ranting in the first place.

There's thousands of players here, but you wouldn't know it because the line-crossers are always soaking up all the spotlight. There's really no excuse for it, it's not censorship, and the narrative that there are strictly 'positive' or 'negative' posters is insulting to my intelligence. I hate coming to this forum. It's been four years, the free passes regarding negativity has to stop.

 

Maybe there is a pattern to this. People are disappointed, not satisfied...

You could say this about every topic. The same group of people are talking about the same PvP- or housing Topics over and over again.

I think you are totally missing the point. Maybe you think that the "negative folk" wants this game to fail or enjoys the "drama" as you put it. But this is not the case. They are voicing their concers. And when those concers are not heard or addressed then the tone gets more rough. Disappointment leads to anger. Yet still it is not meant to hurt the game. Quite the contrary.

If there are four years of negativity then the devs should think about why this is the case.
For me having heard for years that there will be a great offline mode but seeing nothing done in this regard for years with the story being finished in July of this year and Episode 1 being released in autumn makes me disappointed and angry.

 

I don't think a section for rants is a good idea. It would be one of the more active areas of the forum and would invariably be somewhere new players would check out. This would present them with a wall of negativity. At least in general they'll see positive posts as well.

 

This is so true. So much content of my disappointment is just the fact of no response at all. I completely feel like I have been ignored most of the time.

 

The option to fire your home contractor is always there. Just not here though.

 

Hey all! This thread has gone on for quite awhile as many have pointed out, and it's not starting to diverge into other areas. We've read through it and as posted earlier, hear you on your concerns most definitely. I ask that everyone please post more focused topics if you have a question, and also don't forget to ask your questions during the postmortems! Going to close this for now, but leave it visible of course for general reference.