74 replies to this topic

[Scrawny Cowboy]

Garth Erlam, on 26 November 2012 - 10:34 AM, said:

Q: Where is the King Crab? [gregsolidus]
A: Being the best assault ever on a beach somewhere. [Garth]

Is that a yes?

[Sekkerhund]

Garth Erlam, on 26 November 2012 - 10:34 AM, said:

Q: Does the general negativity and unrealistic expectations on the forums dishearten you at all? Or does it make you try even harder to please these particular individuals? [The Dutchmun]
A: It's hard not to have it affect one at all; generally it just makes people around the office less likely to read over the forums. I still do though, and for every negative/unrealistic expection filled post, there are dozens of PM's, emails, and threads that are the opposite. Also, we're dealing with long-time fans of a very old IP, so we expect people to be passionate. If I could have any one thing though, it would be the understanding that: A) we're barely a year into development, and the poor guys are usually here till 10-11pm, so the 'you're just lazy' posts are unnecessary and flat out wrong. [Garth]

They're not beeing "passionate", they're being sociopathic ***hats because there's no consequence for being one on the internet. More frequent seven day suspensions would help curtail the "unnecessary" posts, with permanent bans for repeat offenders/scofflaws. There's no reason the team should feel apprehensive about reading the forums for their own game, just because of all the harsh negativity.

Also, if the development team feels this way, then you can pretty much bet that a lot of your customer base does, too. I pretty much refuse to use forums anymore, other than instances like this where I want to read a Q&A that was linked to from Twitter.

[Marvyn Dodgers]

Thanks for the feedback, and try to ignore the obviously "troubled" forum posts.

Chin up Garth et al, your hard work is appreciated

[Felicitatem Parco]

Stonefalcon, on 26 November 2012 - 03:00 PM, said:

No game developer wants to spends months and hundred of thousands of dollars to develop their game for 5% of the personal computer market, Macs are dying as a gaming PC period. If a Mac user wants to play they can go buy a real computer and play on that.

PGI couldn't do it if they wanted to... Licensing.

[Spirit of the Wolf]

Prosperity Park, on 26 November 2012 - 04:30 PM, said:

PGI couldn't do it if they wanted to... Licensing.

Ouch.

Oh well. Good thing I don't use a Mac then, huh? (Although there are still days when I hate Windows' rotten guts.)

[Sparks Murphey]

Operant, on 26 November 2012 - 01:04 PM, said:

Summary (translated from Garth stupid-speak):
No plans to include King Crab.
We will get camo editor "eventually".

Wow, what a great Q&A. Thanks to everyone who asked dumb filler questions that allows the devs ignore all the tough questions every single week.

Right, because Canada's Impatient Entitlement Act (2002) requires that game developers share all of their plans to general members of the public, and it's only because the conservatives snuck in a provision that said that they only had to answer 18 questions a week in order to avoid jail time that PGI get away with this. Curse those wily game lawyers and their conservative cronies!

Sarcasm aside, the devs are allowed to ignore any and all questions you have. We're privileged enough to have a great team of devs who are willing to share their thoughts on the direction of the game. Unfortunately, axejerk reactions (more violent than a kneejerk reaction) like the recent one regarding the fact that they were maybe possibly considering seeing if third person could be implemented in a way that didn't unbalance the game only make them less inclined to share.

They'll answer your questions when they're good and ready, and have something to say that hasn't been said ten thousand times before. Seriously, I saw someone asking recently if the devs had thought about including a huge map of the Inner Sphere, and allowing people to battle for control of planets. Because, y'know, it's not like it's an entire design pillar on it's own (hint: it actually is)

[Hetfeng321]

Garth Erlam, on 26 November 2012 - 10:34 AM, said:

Q: Does the general negativity and unrealistic expectations on the forums dishearten you at all? Or does it make you try even harder to please these particular individuals? [The Dutchmun]
A: It's hard not to have it affect one at all; generally it just makes people around the office less likely to read over the forums. I still do though, and for every negative/unrealistic expection filled post, there are dozens of PM's, emails, and threads that are the opposite. Also, we're dealing with long-time fans of a very old IP, so we expect people to be passionate. If I could have any one thing though, it would be the understanding that: A) we're barely a year into development, and the poor guys are usually here till 10-11pm, so the 'you're just lazy' posts are unnecessary and flat out wrong. [Garth]

No wonder the game is having problems. Staying to 10 or 11 PM should be a regular occurance in the development of a great (not good, GREAT) game. I trust that you are striving to craft a GREAT game. Our posts are not lazy (calling the most passionate members of your playerbase "lazy" is not a good marketing stratedgy), we are the people that want to inspire you to reach your full potential and help you find the problems (that's what beta testers do, that is what I am trying to do). Know that part of the frustration you see on the forums is not from impatience, but it is the same kind of frustration that a father would feel when his genius son throws his life away with drug abuse. I am trying to solve the problem of imagination, the problem of passion.

If I had hours of time each day or the knowhow to help with the developement of this game on a higher level; the coding, the bugfixing, the modeling, the sketching, the idea-making, the brain-storming, the map-mapping, I would work for free just to see this game trump all previouse MW titiles and be known for years in the gaming world. I don't think you know how I and many other die-hard MW fans want to see this be the best it can be. In a world where the quality and complexity of video games is sadly declining, where companies are gradually shifting to prioritize quantity over quality, where video games are now becoming merely idiotic, thoughtless, pieces of garbage with no evidence of passion from the developers (COD is an example), true gamers who crave the old days when you had to be smarter than the average Joe to get past level 14 in Quake hope beyond hope that passion will return to the gaming world. I have a feeling of honor to take part in the development of this game, even if it is only an infinitesimally small part. The feeling I get when I look at the direction the game is heading, or rather the direction it is not heading, is not anger, but jealousy; jealousy that my opinion is not one of the few that the MWO devs listen to and respect.

If working to 10 or 11 PM is "too much" then you need to set fire to the kindling of potential inside each and everyone one of your developers, managers, modelers, testers, mappers, painters, and coders to create a blaze of passion that will give you the want and the mental stamina to make this game happen. Please read this: http://mwomercs.com/...ping-this-game/. This person is not trolling, not whining, not flaming, he is expressing his concerns. He knows there is a problem and he is trying to help you see it and to help you solve it. Take his advice. Don't skim over it and dash it away as an unrealistic complaint. Take it, use it, and witness the awesome result of the combination between true emotional investment, a supportive community, and skill (skill that I know your devs have). This game will be everything that you put into it; passion, time spent in the small hours, everything. The knowledge of that fact will keep you going through to the release date.

Edited by Hetfeng321, 26 November 2012 - 07:15 PM.

[JustAStick]

Garth Erlam, on 26 November 2012 - 10:34 AM, said:

Q: Does the general negativity and unrealistic expectations on the forums dishearten you at all? Or does it make you try even harder to please these particular individuals? [The Dutchmun]
A: It's hard not to have it affect one at all; generally it just makes people around the office less likely to read over the forums. I still do though, and for every negative/unrealistic expection filled post, there are dozens of PM's, emails, and threads that are the opposite. Also, we're dealing with long-time fans of a very old IP, so we expect people to be passionate. If I could have any one thing though, it would be the understanding that: A) we're barely a year into development, and the poor guys are usually here till 10-11pm, so the 'you're just lazy' posts are unnecessary and flat out wrong. [Garth]

What I am curious about ( and I mean this in the most unangry way possible) is why Piranha Games decided to open the beta if it had so many issues and so little content. It seems to me that it would've been better to open the beta later when more bugs were fixed and more content was available so the game could be more presentable. Also staying up till 10-11pm to work on a game is pretty normal in the game development industry. It would be best for you to get your head around that as soon as possible. A great example of this is when WETA Digital worked on the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Many of the employees would sleep every other night in order to make sure that everything that needed to get done was being finished and that is was A+ quality. This kind of dedication is what you should be striving for (maybe not on such an extreme level but still). And on the production for The Hobbit many of the employees would sleep at their facility and wouldn't leave because they were so dedicated and emotionally invested with the project, and you guys should be like that as well. The more effort and passion you put into the game, the more it will show when people are actually playing it. The Lord of the Rings over all made approximately 2 billion dollars in theaters alone, and it was because they just about killed themselves (figuratively) trying to make the films.

[gregsolidus]

Garth Erlam, on 26 November 2012 - 10:34 AM, said:

Q: Where is the King Crab? [gregsolidus]
A: Being the best assault ever on a beach somewhere. [Garth]

Well played, Garth. Well played...

[Col Forbin]

Hetfeng321, on 26 November 2012 - 06:21 PM, said:

No wonder the game is having problems. Staying to 10 or 11 PM should be a regular occurance during crunch time (which they are in right now, if they don't think that yet, then god help us all). Our posts are not lazy (calling the most passionate members of your playerbase "lazy" is not a good marketing stratedgy), we are the people that want to inspire you to reach your full potential and help you find the problems (that's what beta testers do, that is what I am trying to do). I am trying to solve the problem of imagination, the problem of passion.

If I had hours of time each day or the knowhow to help with the developement of this game on a higher level; the coding, the bugfixing, the modeling, the sketching, the idea-making, the brain-storming, the map-mapping, I would work for free just to see this game trump all previouse MW titiles and be known for years in the gaming world. I don't think you know how I and many other die-hard MW fans want to see this be the best it can be. In a world where the quality and complexity of video games is sadly declining, where companies are gradually shifting to prioritize quantity over quality, where video games are now becoming merely idiotic, thoughtless, pieces of garbage with no evidence of passion from the developers (COD is an example), true gamers who crave the old days when you had to be smarter than the average Joe to get past level 14 in Quake hope beyond hope that passion will return to the gaming world. I have a feeling of honor to take part in the development of this game, even if it is only an infinitesimally small part. The feeling I get when I look at the direction the game is heading, or rather the direction it is not heading, is not anger, but jealousy; jealousy that my opinion is not one of the few that the MWO devs listen to and respect.

If working to 10 or 11 PM is "too much" then you need to set fire to the kindling of potential inside each and everyone one of your developers, managers, modelers, testers, mappers, painters, and coders to create a blaze of passion that will give you the want and the mental stamina to make this game happen. Please read this: http://mwomercs.com/...ping-this-game/. This person is not trolling, not whining, not flaming, he is expressing his concerns. He knows there is a problem and he is trying to help you see it and to help you solve it. Take his advice. Don't skim over it and dash it away as an unrealistic complaint. Take it, use it, and witness the awesome result of the combination between true emotional investment, a supportive community, and skill (skill that I know your devs have). This game will be everything that you put into it; passion, time spent in the small hours, everything.

I think you need to re-read the part where he's talking about "lazy posts." I don't think you are comprehending what he said.

Also, the part where you say that they need to work harder, as in later than 10-11pm...

These devs are entitled to spend time with their families, maybe pursue hobbies, watch some TV, etc. You seem to think you are entitled to have them work 24/7 so you have a game to play sooner.

I hope you now realize what a jerk you sound like.

[JustAStick]

Col Forbin, on 26 November 2012 - 07:10 PM, said:

I think you need to re-read the part where he's talking about "lazy posts." I don't think you are comprehending what he said.

Also, the part where you say that they need to work harder, as in later than 10-11pm...

These devs are entitled to spend time with their families, maybe pursue hobbies, watch some TV, etc. You seem to think you are entitled to have them work 24/7 so you have a game to play sooner.

I hope you now realize what a jerk you sound like.

Being part of a company like this and trying to create a quality game requires sacrifice. When my father was a software engineer at a startup company called Sabrix he would often have 60+ hour work weeks and would never complain because he believed in the product he was working on and knew that it would all pay off in the end. The devs at Piranha Games are much like entrepreneurs and part of being and entrepreneur is believing with the utmost certainty that the product that they are working on is great and giving everything to make sure that it makes the deadline and that it is quality. He's not being a jerk, he's being realistic and just trying to motivate the devs to work harder.

[Panserbjorne]

Thanks again for the thoughtful answers.

[Felicitatem Parco]

I believe what Garth was saying is that PGI employees regularly work much overtime and aren't just sitting back and drinking Grey Goose martini's with our Founder's Money, so it's unfair to call the PGI Employees "lazy" for not putting enough effort into the game.

[Taizan]

These "Ask the devs" things are good things. Thanks!

[Karyu]

Sekkerhund, on 26 November 2012 - 03:50 PM, said:

They're not beeing "passionate", they're being sociopathic ***hats because there's no consequence for being one on the internet. More frequent seven day suspensions would help curtail the "unnecessary" posts, with permanent bans for repeat offenders/scofflaws. There's no reason the team should feel apprehensive about reading the forums for their own game, just because of all the harsh negativity.

Also, if the development team feels this way, then you can pretty much bet that a lot of your customer base does, too. I pretty much refuse to use forums anymore, other than instances like this where I want to read a Q&A that was linked to from Twitter.

QFT

[Solis Obscuri]

Prosperity Park, on 26 November 2012 - 07:46 PM, said:

I believe what Garth was saying is that PGI employees regularly work much overtime and aren't just sitting back and drinking Grey Goose martini's with our Founder's Money, so it's unfair to call the PGI Employees "lazy" for not putting enough effort into the game.

Grey Good martini's? Oh dear, they really are suffering!

Oh waiter? Another bottle of the Macallan '26 - the fire is dying again and these piles of C-Bills simply won't ignite without proper kindling...

[Rejarial Galatan]

once again, my questions go unanswered...

[Ryvucz]

JustAStick, on 26 November 2012 - 07:20 PM, said:

Being part of a company like this and trying to create a quality game requires sacrifice.

People like you are the reason people like me, need medication.

[Saggot]

Thanks for the reply. I wish you good luck, health and strength.

[Nuesse]

Thx for That QA heads up Garth