MindArk Communication discussion

[Centech]

Originally Posted by Dahlifyr

Compare MA:s so called "communication" with ANY other mmo developer out there, and you will comeback and laugh at MA.

When they actually tell us something, its just the same shit as usual, oh yeah we will have vehicles sometime, we cant comment on that matter ect ect.

They are just feeding us crap.

Indeed, I play some other MMOs where you get really involved discussions from the devs like 'Bug X is a pain because I have to edit 100 lines of code and then that code is related to Y code and uses the classes from Z library but I've got it almost working on the dev server and should release a fix in a few days'.

From MA you get 'This issue has been forwarded to the dev team'.

[MorbidX]

Gotta love the general ignorance fo some people

1) MA isnt a large company and doesnt have the playerbase or insanely addicted 13yrs olds(wow) to fund a large team.
2) MA cant off the block go "hey we locked people cos we think they exploits cos this is how its done!" they have to look into it and investigate it then once they know the facts and legal standpoint act upon it!
3)Anyone with half a brain knows that MA's never been any good at communication... BUT THEY ARE IMPROVING!


Admittedly MA are a bit crap for copy paste responses, long response times and false promises (CASHCARD) but i do, sadly enough,think they doing the best with what they got.

I wouldnt like to be the 1-2 guys called Jurgen being shouted at in 400 support cases a day... yould soon get pissed and copy and paste.

[Sarah Hawkwood]

I'm also far away from demanding something like road map too. They can not reveal all they are planning, because there would be no suprise. Bad for marketing... But MA can start several discussions like: "what do you, dear participants, think of such idea...". Yes, they are many such discussions on this forum, but none started by MA, so such discussions here are rather irrelevant to situation as we do not know what is possible within the game and what is not. So what I would like to see in the future form of communication with players is: CL loader info about actual situation, explaining what's happening at the moment and publicly available support forum where we could report bugs much faster and in proper threads (yes, this would be good version of forum managed by MA, but the only one they should have) and, in the future maybe, MA allowing us to share our opinion on their ideas, even through EF (as it is good enough for such purposes too).

[Etopia]

You wonder why MA dont post road map...
for a simple fact , they can not follow it.
MA change idea , wish , and way very often to adapt at diferent things , so they dont follow road MA...

[unionova]

I think more of a dialouge would be to prefer to the current situation. Today there isn't much of a two way communication, it feels more like hit & run when there are postings about updates, news and what not. Rarely follow-ups, witty comments or just whatever.

And while I agree that there has been improvement in certain areas of communication from Mindark and their employees to their customers (such as support, even if i rarely had trouble with slow support cases myself even several years back), I feel they've fallen behind in some ways.

Looking at old postings at EP shows a completly different level of communication where Mindark wasn't un-attainable in the same way they seem now. It was a friendlier atmosphere and a more basic communication (without the pr talk) whereas now it feels like a big part of the postings i run across from Mindark officials either have a very generic feel to them, or are basically defensive posts provoced by a bee hive of angry participants.

That change is a real pity and shame. Being attainable to their customers is something that would be extremly valueble to them, to any company, since friendlyness is a marvelous thing, so when the shit hits the fan you can betcha that their customers would rally behind them rather than flinging that shit at them.

And while interviews are fun & games I guess, it says nothing about their actual communication with their actual customers. It's like saying a mom has quality time with her kids via a tape recorder.

Concerning an official Mindark run & supervised forum I will always think it's a good idea. I can never ever think that any company providing a service such as Mindark is, is fine with only fan forums. Forums such as this one serve a valueble purpose but can never replace an official channel for many many reasons. It can for example never be "mandatory" to keep yourself updated with current issues via a fan based forum. As a company you cant rely on reaching your entire customer base with vital information simply because not all participants are by default a member of the portal/community/forum, and added to that you cant control who's banned, allowed to post, etc.

[Sarah Hawkwood]

Originally Posted by Centech

Indeed, I play some other MMOs where you get really involved discussions from the devs like 'Bug X is a pain because I have to edit 100 lines of code and then that code is related to Y code and uses the classes from Z library but I've got it almost working on the dev server and should release a fix in a few days'.
From MA you get 'This issue has been forwarded to the dev team'.

Centech, but remember two things:
1. Most of EU players are not programists, so such discussion will not be understood by most of us.
2. EU has RCE which most of MMOs do not have. This means they must not discuss even a single small bit of code with us. Where would be the security of this game and our hard earned and deposited money if they did such things?

I think it's better that they keep technical informations for themselves. Yes, they could inform us somehow: "Hello guys, we are aware of bug X and working on it. It will take probably X days. In the meanwhile you can do this and that to avoid encountering this bug"

[Hardicus]

My problem with MA's comms is that they use an unofficial forum to divulge things (even events), that aren't available elsewhere.

How are people supposed to know about this stuff if they don't join EF, or are on the long list of banned EF members?

MA should take responsibility and announce EVERYTHING through their own website or ingame. The only reason I can see that they would use EF and not their own means is if 711 is on their bankroll.

[NightwolfAA2k5]

Originally Posted by Poisonhearts

I believe they are slowly improving on their communication with the player base, but where they're at right now is hardly enough.

Yep, especially when compared to other mmo developers out there.

[onyx oZ Zombie]

Originally Posted by Hardicus

the long list of banned EF members?

Originally Posted by Hardicus

is if 711 is on their bankroll.

oh boy, here we go with the rumors / accusations again

[Sarah Hawkwood]

Originally Posted by Etopia

You wonder why MA dont post road map...
for a simple fact , they can not follow it.
MA change idea , wish , and way very often to adapt at diferent things , so they dont follow road MA...

Etopia, did you ever develop an online game or tried it? I did and you NEVER can stick to plan with just everything. There are priorities you have to solve as first and some things you have in mind and even in design document, but during development process you have to either modify them or remove completely. You have various ideas showing up and sometimes they become more important that the ones you already placed in design document and fit the whole picture better.
So, you can't expect from developer sharing his design document or it's parts. They can share some ideas, announce something (like planets or new engine), but they can not say exactly what will be created and when. Here you are right Etopia, but it's not their bad will, but reality of developing a computer game...
Especially that they are operating on living organism, EU is not something to hit shop shelves within a year or two and before announced only and advertised. You can not just put something in the drawing with etiquette "For realisation" and do not replace it with something else later.