Posted 06 November 2012 - 07:32 PM
There are two scenarios that I see:
1) PGI has a very competent testing team that catches most of the problems before the patch is released and what we are all complaining about is the 'leftovers' or things that honestly didn't pop up due to 'sample size' issues - hence "open Beta" - we are the testers. The problem, of course, is if this is the state of affairs, it means their developers or coders really suck. Why? Because the 'left over' issues are pretty serious ones that should have been caught.
2) PGI is using the Beta testers as unpaid/paying testers without a fine enough filter between developer's changes and Beta testers experience. I.e. not enough quality or quantity of internal testers are being employed to bounce failed or partially working changes back to the developers. Personally, I fear this is the case as the modern corporate structure is designed not to produce a quality product, but to extract as much revenue with the least amount of overhead possible. Face it guys/gals we all know that it is about money, not Mechwarrior. -- that said, I do NOT believe this is the way it should be --
I want PGI to make money from MWO, I do. But I want them to make money because they have a great game that people want to play and that they take great pride in their work, which is reasoned and with perspective to who they serve (the gamers) and not the dollar signs in some top level manager's eyes.
MWO is far from broken, but it is also far from being close to release. There is still the crash to desktop issue (just before writing this three of us on the same team crashed at the same time - we called it a night). There is the scoring issue with LRM's and yes, they are a bit OP. While I have no problem with lasers causing no 'knockback' getting hit by missiles or AC fire should. There is an issue with how XP is awarded. One game I got 1 exp for kill assist (In an LRM Boat), the next I got 120 exp (no LRM's). Something ain't right.
If the mechanics of the game suck, it doesn't matter how cute the "new" map is (even if it is just a variant of the existing maps), or how cute the bobblehead thingy in your cockpit is, the game will suck. The management at PGI needs to have a serious sit down and decide - do they want to be greedy ******** who screw up this Mechwarrior title or will they push back against the pure profit models and make a solid game that becomes a legend in how a game is Suppose to Be?
Personally I see great potential for MWO - it could be stellar - but the present trajectory isn't looking so good to me. They need some serious quality control, priority adjustment, and planning. Fix the existing problems and people may complain about 'no new mechs' or no new maps' and they may even take a break - but they will be back with the new mechs and maps. But keep releasing patches that cause more problems than they fix, and people who go away won't come back. And they will tell their friends about how bad it sucked. But worst of all, they _will_ find a game they like and that is the game they will rave about to their friends.
I signed on to be a Beta tester and accept a bit of 'use' by management. Yeah there are going to be problems - that is the nature of Beta. But there should also be improvement. Marked improvement with each patch. Basic game issues need to be priority #1 - not bobble heads, not skins, not new/old/returning mechs to sell, not glitzy maps, or whatever 'flash' the marketing department is trying to push to maximize profits.
PGI, you are making a game, to be played by gamers, who (for a quality product) will shell out their hard earned cash in droves overtime. But to get them to come, you must not only build it, you have to build it well. Build it better than those who came before. Learn from their mistakes, don't repeat them. Fix the core issues of the game and once you have the vast majority of them dealt with, then play around with the skins and models and 'flash'
but hey, what do I know right? I have just been a computer gamer since 1978, playing my first game over a teletype. Played since text days, hell I still remember the first time I say a 3D effects card used in Quake and how it killed any desire to play without one. I still have a DOS based system so I can play those good old games that were solid. That are still replayable - 20 years after they were released. Back in the day when what was important was getting the game right and letting the money follow.
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Secundus, on 06 November 2012 - 07:03 PM, said:
