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PGI is unable to meet the players demands for how maps, game-modes, match-making, balancing, new concepts, etc. should be.
The Community is giving a lot of feedback in the forum and constantly making suggestions, both of varying quality.
PGI is creating new content, and - following the pattern of "only dissatisfied customers will speak up" - constantly has to re-evaluate things, or in some cases has to withdraw certain features (see -> "Minimap-Gate").
Possible Reason:
PGI and the MWO-Community are not really connected to one another.
(I am not taking sides here.)
Examples:
1. There is no real Beta-testing within this game.
Players will be presented with a finished map, game-mode or [what ever], and all PGI can do is to tweak it.
If the product has initial flaws, they would - technically - need to start from scratch.
They do not have the manpower to do that, because manpower needs money, and in a niche-game such as MWO, money is tight.
Yes, there is that PTS (Play Test Server), but it is rarely used, and part of the problem seems to be that not much player used it or where able to use it due to bugs.
2. It's almost impossible to predict if the players will like certain new gameplay-elements.
Plus listening to the players who scream the loudest is not necessary the way to go, as we have often seen.
Then again it could be awesome to listen to them - Urbanmech, anyone?
So, I have no clear answer to the question if listening to the playerbase will yield good results.
It appears, the only way to find out what will work and what won't... is to actually do it.
But how to do it without wasting months of work?
Possible Solution:
How about - some sort of in-game PTS (Play testing Server)?
We currently have two different game-environments:
[Quick-Play] and [Faction-Play]
How about a third-one?
[Beta-Play]
(Name it what you want, but "Work-In-progress-Play" seems a little to long to me.)
The purpose would be to present the players with a "game-mode" in which they could try out what ever PGI is currently working on.
Be it:
- a new map (like the new Viridian Bog),
- a new game-mode (like Solaris),
- a new match-maker (or rather tweaks to the existing one),
- a new concept (like Infantry),
- a new UI (or parts of it),
- what ever, you name it.
Everything that is part of the current client - except a new client itselt - could be testet here.
So PGI could present the players with their progress while also getting valuable feedback, tweak it, get more feedback, tweak it again, and so on..
Feedback could be given in one of two simple ways:
1. A separate thread in the Forum. Not the best choice as a lot of players do not visit the forum, plus some people tend to write walls of text (just as I do).
2. In form of a little feedback-window, twitter-style. If a player has played said new map for at least X matches (lets say, 10), he could give feedback in a simple text-window that is presented to him.
I have no idea if this could be implemented within the MWO-client,
but since we already have two very different gameplay-environments (Quick-Play and Faction-Play) I assume it is possible.
Might take some work, but once it's done it will be available for further use.
(I'd call the time needed to pull this off an "investment".)
It could give PGI valuable feedback BEFORE they start full-scale production on a new item,
while it could give the players the feeling that they are more then a simple source of income for PGI (which we still are, of cause, but thats a different story. You can't pay bills by doing a job - somebody must pay you, or it's just a hobby).
Thougts?
