Release 44 Postmortem Mini-Telethon

Aye and I have not been prodding to be a ****. It's something that matters. in other words, I want this to succeed. That being the case, if I with a vested interest don't voice my opinion I have noone but myself to blame if it goes south over something I should have spoken out about. Like my dad always said about voting.... if you don't do it, you lose the right to *****.

Edit: whether it was my prodding or not.. I see some questions are finally being answered over there. Some.. but not all, and there are a couple very good unanswered items.

 

Sorry, but this is exactly the kind of comment that won't help anything.
Why ?
A) Complaining via "broad brush" helps nothing.
B) Way off topic.

Start your own thread about exactly what it would take for Port to satisfy you, and offer suggestions.

 

Is it ok, to just let most announcements be made without us commiting our passions to it?
People may have relevant questions about the event, right?

 

With a quarterly telethon, I don't feel too bad about making a purchase on all three accounts in the family. Its only about $5 a month. However, if we go monthly I'll only be able to make a purchase on one of my accounts. So you get the same amount of money, and I get more unique things, but there won't be a secondary market for it; its just collectables at that point. You get more bang for your buck, asset-creation-wise, with quarterly telethons. Now if you want those to go to 6 hours instead of 12, thats fine.

 

*shrugs* fair enough.
Still I am curious which of my two pretty harmless posts got you on the edge.

 

Got a simple question. Another telethon coming up so when do we get the rewards for the Lord British birthday telethon that happened a couple of weeks ago? R/Boris/El Pirata

 

I do think the stretch goal items are good. Even though my character doesn't like the Oracle, I still have a lot of rooms left in my home that could use themed items like that. Certainly well worth the $5.

 

No Oracle Eye Outhouse....

 

Please know that I say this as a new person that has just begun understanding the dynamic here, however I do come from a place of decades-long experience in the MMO community at large.

From my perspective, though there is the constant ask for money, I also feel a stronger bond with this community (save my own guild) than I have in any other game except UO and I've been here, what, two weeks? Maybe those of you that have been here longer may be jaded more, or used to the culture here, but let me assure you, it is groundbreaking, unique, special and welcoming - just like the game everyone is working towards launching.

I accept the constant ask for money and I don't have a lot of money. Most of my possessions in-game will come to me the old-fashioned way, by playing the game. I'll never be a land baron or run my own city, that I can tell, as those opportunities are long gone. But I'm still here.

The game is 100% player funded. If they stop asking, they stop being able to develop. Period.

Personally, I love the Telethon idea. It's true to the common theme of this game and it's community which is what got me here to begin with.

 

@Alleine Dragonfyre the telethons are a laugh and silly and fun.. I know you know why some of us are feeling a little sore, even if it doesnt make a huge amount of sense to you because you arent us, and thats cool. however, dont let our problems spoil your fun.

 

I can't speak for anyone but myself. But I can say that there are some people that are jaded. (it varies greatly however what degree of reasonableness supports each person though)

In the case of this telethon and the move to make them monthly, I'm cool with that. What I think is difficult for me at the moment is that I've been waiting for 4 years, I've seen it all, I've supported this game as much as anyone has, and although I still love the game, play it as much as I can, and want it to succeed with every fiber of my being...

There are sometimes events that take place, such as the policy change to DEV+ and the developers reaction to our reaction and the backdrop of asking for more money while at the same time locking threads and pushing out more "polish releases" while simultaneously asking for money to be a publisher, while also going radio silent on many aspects of the game (like pvp), and it's trying on ones soul.

I know the developers are working hard. I know they're good people. I know they're doing their best. I also know that the only thing that really matters is that they make a good game. That takes time, and money, and it involves making difficult decisions, like policy changes to DEV+ or not talking about PVP.

Still, I think those things could be communicated better. I think Portalarium could at the very least not get so upset with the situation. It's the nature of the beast.


We're all bees, every last one of us. And at the end of the day, the bees are the ones paying $5 at telethons. So when all that stuff gets jumbled together, it becomes a soup of self inflicted wounds.

I'm still looking forward to the telethon. I'm sure it will be fun. I'll probably even spend more than $5. But it would be nice if after 4 years Portalarium could figure out how to manage the community, and it would be nice if they could start by thinking about it being a full time job and not another hat that several people wear.

 

This. +1

 

Thanks for your fresh perspective... we need to hear that

 

I think the timing is hmmm difficult. The seedinvest campaign is currently at 70% and ends around the Telethon.
Cash reserves as stated here in the forum and the historical CF would not directly explain the necessity of a new, monthly telethon.
Even if the idea is to go to an optional "subscription" via release telethons announcing this for R45 (with new QA rules!) would have been IMHO smarter choice.
Now we've got a rally for the seedinvest, a new telethon one month after RG birthday and two weeks after the Neverdie and QA / DEV+ discussions. This will certainly spark discussions and/or speculation about the development process.
And this is sad! R44 is (mostly) (main) story complete. New maps are great and performance started to improve. But this is hidden behind uncertainty and stuff like this. I only can hope that Starr and RG use the telethon to openly address the issues and reinstate confidence.

 

I don't know whether to laugh or cry. This has been a point of concern since KickStarter.

 

Yes.

But there are two very important things happening right now that change the narrative. Previously, we were in development. Portalarium was a development company.

Now we are moving towards a "story launch" and eventually this year an actual launch of EP1 with marketing and new players, etc... In addition, Portalarium is trying to become a development/publishing company.

For four years I've understood that we often had "this guy - see below" (in the form of many people wearing multiple hats) collectively performing customer service and marketing...


But that time is coming to an end. Because it has to...

As we move towards what I hope is a productive new operational chapter in Shroud of the Avatar, we need people and processes that don't do what we've done over the last 4 years. We need full-time customer service and support. It's a massively multiplayer game. There's going to be a lot more drama on the horizon, and unlike during development we're going to need to respond quickly and efficiently while protecting our development team from all the bees.

 

Personally I don't mind the monthly telethons. Will I spend $5 per account every month? Probably, unless the 'perks' are not worth the money (didn't think the last ones were particularly anything I would like to have).

What I would like to see from now on, however, is less of the 'community' showing up and taking up valuable time on camera, less drinking and playing around, and a more professional approach with lots more serious attention to answering the questions from the players who are backing the game. It is really hard to take a company serious and want to financially back them further with what the telethons have turned into.

So keep the guests off camera, put the booze away, celebrate the milestones with some graphics on the screen or something, and put the right developers / staff members in front of the cameras to answer specific questions that pertain to their area of expertise. Who knows, with that approach, Portalarium might just gain back the trust and support of those who are becoming more and more disenchanted.

 

+1
Even if "we're all a community " and game industry is not a bank, more professionalism would be welcome.

 

I actually have to disagree to a point. I understand what you are saying but I actually enjoy the telethons for their humor and silliness at times. If it were more like a long, drawn-out business convention, I doubt you'd get many to stay and watch. I would find it hard to back them if they didn't have the entertainment value. Afterall, it's a game. It should be entertaining. If the makers were all sticks-in-the-mud it probably would not make for a great game. I'm glad they do it and show they are just as human as the rest of us.

Cheers for them!