Guild Wars 2

IndigoSundown.5419:

@minbariguy

Special thanks for sharing your perspective. You’ve restored some of my lost faith in the Minbari … err, humanity.

LOL. In Valen’s name, I thank you. ;-)

Just a couple of questions to those who keep saying that mounts aren’t needed and go against established lore:

1. Are mini-pets needed?
2. Do mini-pets conform to established GW lore?

Why are people raging about how pointless and unnecessary mounts are, and yet have no problem with a tiny Rytlock that follows people around?

I mean…tiny versions of actual people in the world in which the game is set aren’t immersion breaking? Really?

To be honest, I despise all mini-pets that are versions of established characters, but I wouldn’t demand that all players cater to my wishes on the issue. If people want mounts, let them have them. Seriously.

IndigoSundown.5419:

Wow.

“Please, please, please give us a status update, even if it’s only, “We’re still actively thinking about this issue and will give details when we can.”

Such a post is made. Reactions?.

“That’s not good enough.”

I still think the Mike O’Brien Gag Policy is a mistake. But, it’s moments like this that makes me think twice.

I totally get what you’re saying, Indigo, but that kind of a reaction from a handful of the who-knows-how-many people reading this thread should not — can not — be used to justify a policy of long-term customer neglect. [Not that you were doing that, mind you!]

Speaking for myself, yes, I do think some kind of statement is long overdue, but…I still love that Gaile popped in here. Though her statement was vague, we all know that it was the only kind of statement she could have made, working within the parameters set for her. And honestly…it made me feel better.

I wish I was the kind of person who could just be told “Hey, even though we may not post on a thread…EVER…trust me that we are totally reading all your feedback.” I really, really do.

But I’m not.

I need to hear occasional acknowledgements from the powers-that-be, or I get frustrated and disillusioned. I start to question why I would patronize a company that doesn’t feel inclined to even acknowledge an ongoing concern for months at a time. I start looking at other games. Games that will at least take me out to dinner and give me a nice conversation before they…oh, um, never mind about that.

I guess this is my way of saying that my predominant feelings about Gaile’s posts in this thread are appreciation and gratitude. I know not everyone will feel the same, and I am in no way telling anyone that they should. But that’s how I feel.

Thanks, Gaile. :-)

naiasonod.9265:

Gaile, I want new dailies to be mini-games about sipping piña coladas on whitesand beaches, with herds of puppies and kittens roaming around for our viewing pleasure.

Yes! I’m sold! :-)

Filaha.1678:

The game is not a completely different thing than it started out as, like the club in your analogy.

I’m not saying that it is. However, how different a game is from it’s point of origin to it’s current state is a matter of opinion. And alas, you do not get to decide for someone else if it is different enough to warrant their state of unhappiness. Acting as though you have the right to make that determination on someone else’s behalf only weakens your argument.

Vayne.8563:

I wouldn’t join a golf club because I don’t like golf. And I wouldn’t play golf.

What if you enjoyed chess, and you paid $60 for a lifetime membership to a chess club… and then 4-5 months after you joined, they changed it to a golf club?

Would you still not mind the fact that you paid $60 for a lifetime membership simply because you got 4-5 month’s worth of chess-playing before they switched to something you don’t enjoy?

ETA: As to the OP, I try to ignore the people with the “don’t like it, don’t play it” comments, because I know that most of the time their attitude will change dramatically as soon as there is a game change that they don’t like.

From the “What Anet does right” thread:

Gaile Gray.6029:

[SNIP]…I know the team is keenly aware of the desire for changes to traits, and they will have something to say on that subject when plans are more firmed up.

The mind. It boggles.

Edit for clarity: This is an example of the incredibly poor communication that ANet is so stubbornly adhering to. If only they weren’t so terrified of being held accountable for their own words, they might have had something to say in this thread by now.

This is not in any way an attack on Gaile. I think she does her job well. But the idea that after all this time their plans for traits aren’t even firm enough to make a post in the traits thread about how things are coming along is — as usual — disappointing.

Okay, so…after not logging in for anything other than story unlocks for months, I decided to log in and give this new daily thing a look-see. I preface this feedback with the admission that I’ve been fairly dissatisfied with ANet as a company, and with the general direction of the game.

That said…it comes as a great surprise even to myself that I actually don’t mind the change to the dailies. (I need to sit down and breathe now…gimmie a moment…)

I like the log-in rewards. On those days when I don’t have time for anything else (or I am bitterly shaking my fist in the direction of the ANet gods and don’t care to spend any time in the actual game that day) I can peek my head in, look around, and still get something for doing so. I also like that I am not punished for not logging in, since your log-ins don’t have to be consecutive.

The actual dailies themselves will probably be a bit of a sticking point for me until I have more areas of the map opened up (there are still a LOT of areas I do not have access to yet, so dailies in those areas will not be possible until that fact changes). But even if I can only do ONE of the available dailies, I like that I get a reward for completing that one instead of having to do all five of them to get a reward (besides XP, of course).

So…my bottom line is that although I’m not crazy about the dailies being so specific as to be difficult for players without sufficient map completion, I do realize that this is only a temporary setback for me. I mean, eventually I should have access to more and more areas, and then this won’t be a problem.

All in all, though I’ve been pretty critical of GW2 recently, I have to say that I don’t think these changes are that bad. Obviously, though, everyone will have a different opinion, and everyone is of course entitled to express it. That’s what the forums are for, right? :-)

I really wish ANet would just concentrate on making the game fun to play and improving their relationship with their players via an improved communication policy. This constant obsession with trying to manipulate us into logging in (first by ensuring that we’ll have to pay for living story updates if we don’t, and now this) is just the wrong way to go. You’re not supposed to have to dangle carrots in front of our faces to get us to log in. The game IS the carrot. Or at least it’s supposed to be.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not totally opposed to these new log-in incentives. I think they’re better than the punitive living store chapter incentives since they don’t have that negative “do it now, or you’ll pay for it later” vibe. It’s just that I think that ANet is stubbornly treating the symptoms and not the root cause. If people are not logging in, there are reasons. If they would address those reasons instead of trying to bribe people to log in, I think they would fare better.

TLDR: Log-in incentives are fine, but don’t ignore the root causes of why people aren’t logging in in the first place.

I really wish ANet would just concentrate on making the game fun to play and improving their relationship with their players via an improved communication policy. This constant obsession with trying to manipulate us into logging in (first by ensuring that we’ll have to pay for living story updates if we don’t, and now this) is just the wrong way to go. You’re not supposed to have to dangle carrots in front of our faces to get us to log in. The game IS the carrot. Or at least it’s supposed to be.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not totally opposed to these new log-in incentives. I think they’re better than the punitive living story chapter incentives since they don’t have that negative “do it now, or you’ll pay for it later” vibe. It’s just that I think that ANet is stubbornly treating the symptoms and not the root cause. If people are not logging in, there are reasons. If they would address those reasons instead of trying to bribe people to log in, I think they would fare better.

TLDR: Log-in incentives are fine, but don’t ignore the root causes of why people aren’t logging in in the first place.

Gaile Gray.6029:

[SNIP] Yes, we had a search engine in the beginning, but it was broken by our forum contractor in the course of working on other things. We no longer have a relationship with that contractor or his company, and someone else is not able to step into the system and fix the search engine because (1) our programmers are tasked with other essential work, (2) the forums run on a web framework with which most of our programmers are not familiar and (3) we’re investigating other options for forums and it would not be prudent to pour money into hiring someone to fix this as a short-term solution.

Ah, I see. Thank you for that explanation, Gaile. It’s possible that that has all been explained before and I may have missed it, but until now the only “official” posts I had personally seen on the subject were along the lines of “yeah, we wish it worked, too!”, which always puzzled me. Apologies if it had been explained before. I did a forum search and didn’t find any posts about it (Ha ha, I know, sorry, I just couldn’t resist!). :-)

Anyhoo, while I certainly have a much better understanding now of how the situation developed, I’m still a bit surprised that the issue has been allowed to continue as long as it has, especially with communication being something of an issue as it is. It is good to know that you are investigating other options for the forums, though. I just hope that it isn’t something that is going to persist for another year or so. It is vitally important that I be able to search for all the existing “Mounts” threads as soon as possible. (Gosh, I’m naughty tonight. I beg your forgiveness. And that of the frog. Who might make a cool mount, I’m just sayin’.).

Thanks again for all you do, Gaile. Keep the sweet nectar of information flowing as freely as you can. Fun fact: every time someone from ANet gives us a piece of useful information, an angel kitten gets its rainbow wings.

Gaile Gray.6029:

[SNIP] We regret that the search engine is not functioning properly right now…

Out of curiosity, does anyone know if the search engine ever worked? If so, when did it stop working? I’m not sure that I recall that it ever worked, but I could be mistaken.

In any case, I’m having a difficult time understanding why exactly the forum search engine would be broken for so long and/or be so difficult to fix. Nearly every forum on the internet has a working search engine; it’s not brand-new cutting-edge technology. Honestly, is ANet doing so poorly financially that it cannot afford to have forum tools that work?

Gaile Gray.6029:

Information gathering is very valuable to us, and we’ll be looking for people who can do that in a helpful and as unbiased a manner as possible.

Gaile, I think perhaps we don’t understand ANet’s vision for this program. Where I am confused is that whenever it is implied (or, heck, outright stated) that ANet isn’t listening, we are nearly always assured that you folks read all of our posts, and are aware of our feedback even if it isn’t commented on by an official employee.

If that is the case, then one has to wonder…why do you need forum members to gather the information that we are frequently reminded that you folks are already gathering?

I honestly believe that is what has many of us scratching our heads here. Perhaps someone could speak to this?

Honestly, you folks are already perfectly aware of how to improve communication with your playerbase. It has been repeated over and over, yet continues to fall on the profoundly deaf ears at the top of your management chain. This post summed it up quite nicely:

Illysharia.7286:

Gaile, with all due respect, this “Specialist” program isn’t going to help the current situation. That situation being the topic that has dominated this forum for a year: the abysmal lack of communication on meaningful topics by ANET. Judging by the larger portion of commentary in this thread, many community participants see through the smoke screen as well.

Let me elaborate. In the “Communicating With You” thread, Mike and Chris went on and on about how they read, and listened. Throughout the thread, very specific topics were directly brought to Chris’ attention (since we finally had it after a half year of radio silence) which he acknowledged. Since that time, not much at all has improved, and the hot topics that were brought up are (drum roll) still being ignored.

So, if months of compiled community feedback (in various threads across various topics) still remain smouldering and ignored, and random flare-ups of threads where the community is pleading for communication get ignored..after Chris and Mike make a hullabaloo about mending the bridge they burnt..how is anyone to believe that a volunteer system is going to improve anything?

If thousands voices in threads that are over a half year old can’t get them to wake up, then how is a memo from a volunteer going to change anything? It’s become so comically absurd.

The problem comes from the top. Their self-imposed hiding behind a wall has to cease. <— That is where the problem lies.

I have never seen a company as terrified of being held accountable for their own words as Anet. It leaves the impression that management has no idea where they are going next.

More importantly, it does a superb job of convincing me to keep my wallet tightly closed.

If one is confident in their vision for the future and in their ability to achieve it, then talking about it (IN BROAD STROKES) should not be a problem. Complete silence is nearly always an indication that that confidence is missing.

insanemaniac.2456:

when you post in a thread, do you continue to follow the thread every time you see a new post in it? for every thread you ever post in?

Actually, I do, too.

When someone posts in a thread and then doesn’t return to it when they see new posts, it’s a pretty clear indication that they were only interested in blurting out their opinion, and not at all interested in what other people had to say.

Forums are about discussion, not just dropping opinion bombs. Discussion is a two-way street.

Gaile Gray.6029:

But until there’s something of substance to say, devs wouldn’t post in the thread due both to their generally busy schedules and to our practice of talking about matters of this sort only when we’re able to provide something of substance, within a meaningful timeframe.

(Emphasis mine)

This statement makes me think two things.

First, I think that keeping customers updated is “something of substance”. I understand that it’s not fun to pop into a thread to announce that there is no new information to report, but that is no reason to keep customers in the dark.

Second, what is a “meaningful time frame” for a customer to continue to experience radio silence on an issue of importance to them? I think it should be a bit less than seven months (not for an implementation, mind you, but for at least a status update). This is something I’ve mentioned before, but it bears repeating: This is about managing customer expectations.

You folks (as a company) seem to be unwaveringly committed to the position that no update at all is better than an update that says “We’ve hit a snag, but we’re still working on this”, and I cannot for the life of me understand why. Google any number of articles about managing customer expectations, and you will find that nearly every one of them will tell you the exact opposite.

For example:

From “Managing Customer Expectations”, by Naomi Karten:

“But when uncertainty-creating situations occur, most customers would rather have a little information than none at all.”

From “Managing Customer expectations is key to aligning it with business”, by Harris Kern

“Communicate, communicate, and communicate
You can’t manage expectations without communication. In fact, you can’t manage anything without communication. And in this case, if some is good, more is better. The customer continually needs to know how you’re making progress on her problems, what you will deliver, and what you need. Don’t let daily pressures crowd out the continuing dialog that is essential for success.”

From “10 ways to communicate more effectively with customers and co-workers” by Calvin Sun (Oh, this one’s my favorite):

“The area where I live, southeastern Pennsylvania, has a large agricultural presence, in particular involving the production of mushrooms. While they are growing, mushrooms are kept in a dark building and are covered with fertilizer.

Your customers will become upset if you treat them the same way. Keep them informed of developments involving them, particularly with regard to technical problems and outages. In particular, keep them apprised even if nothing is going on."

You get the idea. Nowhere, and I mean nowhere, is it considered good communication or effective customer expectation management to allow an issue to sit and stew for months without an update. Please feel free to correct me with a source.

And again, Gaile, this is not directed at you. This is a deeply ingrained flaw in your company’s business ideology that continues to frustrate many of your customers and severely compromise the potential of a relationship built on trust and respect. The longer it continues, the less likely my continued customer loyalty becomes.

I honestly don’t think stickied threads will help anything. As ANet peeps frequently point out, they read the forums. They know what threads are there. Common sense is enough to determine which topics are due for at least some kind of response or acknowledgement. If they have not yet responded to one of these types of threads, it is most likely being intentionally avoided.

In fact, the “My Greatest Fear” topic mentioned in the OP is a good example. When the issue with the Personal Story came up, here are some of the many responses that were given over a month ago (found in the “Communicating With You” thread, ironically):

“Leah is looking into it and we will update when we have more info.”

“We are absolutely not going to ignore it FYI.
we will have more info soon.”

“Probably an update Monday if you don’t mind. Super busy today.”

“First of all thanks very much for all of your info. We have actually been using your posts to investigate (or rather Leah and her team has).”

“I have asked them to post an update but they are super busy. So if they don’t today I will swing by and then update on their behalf. I have been forwarding yours and others info to them and they have been using it. So thank you very much.”

“I or Leah will update as soon as we can and we intend to at the minimum to get things back in order.”

First things first. The response to this started out excellently. There was acknowledgement that there was a problem (even if they wouldn’t come out and say if it was intentional or a bug…there seemed to be some confusion on that front). Then they said they’d give an update. Soon. Then it was reported that it was still being investigated, and player feedback and information was being used in the investigation.

All excellent communication.

And then…nothing.

Since then, as far as I can tell, there’s been silence. If I am mistaken and I have missed something, I apologize, and I hope someone will correct me. But I know that the players posting in the “My Greatest Fear” thread don’t seem to know what’s going on and there hasn’t been a red post there since about a month ago, and that post contained no information about the status of the issue.

So, obviously, the devs know it is there. They are choosing not to post updates. No amount of stickied threads will change that. If we want to improve communications, then we need a dev team that is committed to keeping the players updated. No communication on an issue that has been the focus of an ongoing investigation for an entire month is not good communication. It is a ball, dropped.

To be honest, I’m not even all that concerned with the “My Greatest Fear” issue, personally. But when I see issues handled in this manner, it severely erodes my confidence in how my issues will be handled if and when they arise. It just doesn’t look good. Again, apologies if I have missed some kind of communication that was given. It is not my intention to misrepresent how that particular situation is being handled.

Otherwise, I see and appreciate the increase in red posts, and I want ANet to know that. I don’t mean to sound harsh. You guys should feel good about that, and I will certainly give credit where it is due.

TLDR: Stickies: Not the answer. (My opinion, of course. YMMV)

Asmodeus.5782:

They have even introduced an airship trip to Orr instead of smooth transition we had beforehand. I fail to see how this could be done by accident.

Well, to be honest, I thought it was odd when they appeared at first not to know if it was a bug or an intentional change. I seem to remember someone from ANet saying that it was being looked into, or something to that effect.

It would stretch all credibility at this point to have us believe that— after all this time has elapsed— they still don’t know if it was intentional. Obviously, they have to know by now.

I was just curious as to whether they’ve actually informed the players yet.

I haven’t been following this for a while. Have they even said whether the changes were intentional or not yet?

Mark Katzbach.9084:

I should also add that the considerations for this feature were over two years ago when we were launching the forums and determining what type of restrictions to put in place.

Ahhh, now that makes a difference.

I mistakenly interpreted your first post as suggesting that this was under consideration as a reaction to forum negativity (as that was a major point in the OP of this thread). Had that been the case, it would have given the impression that your solution to unhappy players would have been to simply silence them rather than address their concerns, and I think that was what caused some of the initial bad reactions to your post.

Clearly it was just a simple misunderstanding. I get it now. Thanks for taking the time to jump in here and post. I am really liking the new forum team initiative.

Oh, and to the topic at hand: No. Just no. We can’t silence people simply because we don’t like what they’re saying. If they’re breaking forum rules, however, we have legitimate reasons to silence them. Working as intended.

Gaile Gray.6029:

I think this post may be a valuable read: Mike O’Brien on Communication.

Gaile, please read the following knowing that I have nothing but love and admiration for you:

I didn’t find Mike O’Brien’s post a valuable read in the slightest. In fact, It is quite telling that a thread titled “Communicating With You” was started by a man who has exactly two posts to his entire post history (TWO! Including the above linked post.).

Mr. O’Brien started that thread with a “this is our policy and it is not open for discussion” chip on his shoulder, and then never returned to the thread again. Not once. Those are hardly the actions of a person who takes communicating with customers seriously.

In regards to transparency, it has already been said, but I will add my voice to chorus:
The problem is not that you may miss a deadline and upset people.
The problem is that no one ever communicates when situations change.
This is all about managing customer expectations. It really isn’t rocket science, and it isn’t all that difficult either…unless you have a gag-order policy like ANet.

I have to admit, ANet’s communication policy is a serious obstacle to me developing any sense of customer loyalty or brand appreciation. It reveals a level of disdain and mistrust of it’s own customers. It doesn’t feel good.

And I truly, honestly, don’t believe it is good for the long-term health of the game.

My 2 cents.

anzenketh.3759:

Specifically this thread?

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/support/forum/Search-feature-not-working/first

Pfft. That thread is only a year old. That’s hardly enough time to have given it proper attention.

Why, yes, that was sarcasm. ;-)

Konig Des Todes.2086:

As an addendum, I just want to say that your post – perhaps not intentionally or accurately – gives a pretty poor view of ArenaNet’s writers. The way you worded it makes it sound like “destruction is the only way we know how to advance a plot.”

In all fairness, Regina is the North American Community Team Lead, not one of the writers. I suspect she was asking on her own accord (rather than on behalf of a stumped writing team who can’t imagine any other way to advance a plot) with the intention of presenting our ideas to the writing team.

Now, if it had been one of the writing team, I’d probably be right there with ya!

Regina Buenaobra.6193:

Just a question here because I am curious. The idea of the Living World is that there is a storyline that you take part in, that you are involved in events that shape Tyria in permanent ways—how would you all convey the sense of progression and change without also making changes to the landscape? I see a couple of comments regarding creating things, not simply destroying. Do you all have any other ideas?

I would begin by thinking about how we notice changes in our real-life world. The seasons change and we see new flowers blooming, or trees changing color, or snow covering the ground. Or that big brown building on the corner suddenly gets painted a cheerful blue. Or, hey, what’s up with the sky? Why is it suddenly a dark purple, with flickers of light illuminating the clouds? Okay, so that last one doesn’t happen in our real-life world, but it’d be cool, right?

Also, people’s actions and activities change depending on what’s going on in the physical environment. Maybe there’s a mob of people protesting outside a shop who’s been price-gouging its customers. Maybe there’s a celebratory parade marching through the streets to mark a special occasion. Maybe there’s a stage in the center of town where “live” NPC bands perform on occasion. And perhaps you could have certain times where parts of the city are more crowded with NPCs than at other times, to simulate the ebb and flow of a populated area.

I even recall one MMO I played where a dye vendor with a drinking problem would often toddle off to the tavern…even when I was in the middle of purchasing something. Yeah, I know, it sounds annoying, but it was actually kind of funny. I’d have to chase her down to the tavern to buy my dyes. And if ever she wasn’t in her normal place next to the other vendors, I always knew where I’d find her. Now that made the world seem alive.

I guess my point is that what makes a world seem alive is often the smaller changes that occur naturally, not the big changes we try to force into the world because it seems more dramatic. Sure, big things happen from time to time, and I think it’s great that you’ve proven that you’re not afraid to show that. But I think maybe turning an eye towards the smaller details would be helpful to your goal of truly making the world seem alive.

And maybe— just maybe— if you guys get that itch for more destruction, a building or two can burn down. Just one or two, you havoc-wreaking lords of destruction! No need to lay waste to the entire city, mkay? ;-)

What reasonable person would expect a game developer to have the same skill set as a professional spokesperson? Give the guy a break.

As someone who is always pushing for more information/communication, all I can say is that if a dev is willing to take time out of their day to sit in front of a camera and communicate with us, then the proper response is appreciation for their time, not criticism of their screen presence.

On the plus side, though, I’ll bet Karl has a lot more supporters and fans now than he did before this thread, lol.

#believeinkarl —-—> indeed

Again, this all boils down to managing customer expectations, which ANet is— quite frankly— terrible at. I posted a piece of an article on managing expectations in the “Communicating With You” thread, but it applies here as well:

“Here are the five steps I always try to follow for managing client expectations:

1. Be Honest From The Get-Go. Though it may sound counterintuitive, I always tell potential new clients in the very first initial conversation about possiblyworking together that there are no guarantees. As with most things in life, there are too many factors at play to make any grandiose promises. I can’t predict whether a producer will like a pitch, or a reporter will quote my client. Although it may feel uncomfortable, I think that saying this clearly and in no uncertain terms, positions the client to take a leap of faith in your work and also helps them to understand the process behind your work.

2. Under-Promise , Over-Deliver. This old adage is one to live by! I promise my clients that they will have immediate & constant access to me and my team; that we will, every day, work on their behalf through pitching and meetings with the media; and that if nothing else, it is guaranteed that they will become known to key members of the media. After that, when big interviews start rolling in, it’s much more appreciated!

3. Anticipate the Client’s Needs Before They Know Their Own Need. This one definitely takes time and practice, but think about it: no one knows your business as well as you do. You know when things are going great and when you need to ramp up your efforts. It’s so important to share that with a client through a simple email stating “I’m going to spend extra time this week working on your project – I really want to get you out there as much as you do.” It can go a long way.

4. Constant Communication. If you’re in the service industry of any kind, that is what you do – serve. That means being bubbly, bright and (almost) always available. While of course it’s important to set boundaries so that you can maintain a rewarding personal life, it’s critical that your clients know they can gain access to you as needed. Hopefully just knowing you’re available and ready to jump on a project as needed will be enough so that your client’s won’t abuse your generousity with time.

5. Reports. Probably not anyone’s favorite task during the week, but reports show a clear delineation of work that was done over the course of a week or month. Remember – reports don’t have to be very long, or in a format that clogs up a lot of your time. A simple email detailing tasks completed for the week shows your clients what they’re paying for, and thus, keeps them happy.

Hopefully, by following these steps, you’ll be on a road to an even better relationship with your clients. By following this process, you’ll most likely achieve better results in your work, too."

I believe that what the OP is referring to falls under number 2, “Under-Promise, Over-Deliver”. Unfortunately, ANet’s approach to marketing is usually exactly the opposite.

“ZOMG, you guys, HUUUUUUUGE changes GALORE!!11!” followed by a prolonged, dragged-out, over-hyped trickle of information about features that don’t really affect veteran players that much is not efficient managing of expectations.

And yes, I know that they aren’t done announcing things yet, and supposedly some of the upcoming announcements are for features that will have a greater impact on veteran players. But this policy of “hype, trickle, hype, trickle” dramatically affects the players’ willingness to accept these communications with a positive attitude. By the time they hear something that they like, they’re so annoyed that they no longer care.

ANet, I encourage you to seriously rethink how you communicate.

Lisa.6102:

minbariguy.7504:

Downed state is confusing to some new players because all of a sudden their familiar skill bar disappears and is replaced by skills they know nothing about. To make matters worse, they do not really have time to mouse over them to read a tooltip due to the fact that they are dying. So most just randomly spam buttons and hope for the best. The pressure of a near-death experience isn’t exactly conducive to learning.

I totally agree, though, that moving the downed state to level 5 doesn’t solve this problem at all.

So you press one of the four buttons right in front of you and see what it does, you’ve got nothing to loose. You’re dying anyway.

Anet do the darnedest things sometimes

Sigh. New players do hit the buttons, but it isn’t always easy to tell what each skill and its associated animations are actually doing in terms of game mechanics.

But hey, thanks for the sarcasm. It was really productive. :-)

Downed state is confusing to some new players because all of a sudden their familiar skill bar disappears and is replaced by skills they know nothing about. To make matters worse, they do not really have time to mouse over them to read a tooltip due to the fact that they are dying. So most just randomly spam buttons and hope for the best. The pressure of a near-death experience isn’t exactly conducive to learning.

I totally agree, though, that moving the downed state to level 5 doesn’t solve this problem at all.

Just wanted to point out an article I saw at Massively.com about a game (that I shall not name) whose playerbase has continued to grow to a point where there are four times as many players today as it had nine months ago.

This particular quote jumped off the page at me:

“What did [the CEO of the company that makes this game] attribute to the game’s meteoric rise? The promotions and sheer mountain of new content that the team’s been adding certainly helped, but he said that it really came down to terrific community relations. [The CEO] streams the game four nights a week and talks to the community members as though they were part of his family.”

Now I have to say that that last bit about talking to the community like they were members of his family is laying it on a bit thick, but it is interesting to note that community relations is such a high priority that he felt it was the main reason for the game’s success.

What would be useful would be a “Downed State” training NPC, where you initiate combat, and when you are put into downed state mode the NPC stops attacking you.

There, in downed state but not in immediate danger, you could have all the time in the world to mouse over your skills, see what they do, and use them against the training NPC. After you “kill” the NPC (but not really, you just lower his health bar to within a sliver of death) you rally, pop back up, and the NPC says “Congratulations, you are now familiar with the downed state!”

Or something like that.

Stephane Lo Presti.7258:

The Feature Pack announcements will continue next week and some of them will definitely contain information that’s relevant to those of you who’ve been playing the game for long. We won’t tell you about them until the articles are live though, to keep the element of surprise!

Honestly, at a time when even ANet employees are openly admitting that communication with players needs improvement, don’t you think that maybe this style of “playing coy” with announcing new features is a mistake?

Dragging out these announcements for so long only reinforces the whole “Nope, can’t tell you anything yet!” vibe that frustrated players have been putting up with for far too long already, not to mention that it severely undermines the “wow” factor by having some of the announcements be…uh, less spectacular than I think you were counting on.

Trust me, if your new features are worth being excited about, we’ll know…without your having to resort to gimmicky prolonged announcements designed to artificially increase the hype machine.

Marcus Greythorne.6843:

I’m confused, wasn’t the next CDI supposed to be about communication?! O_o Well I guess I wouldn’t have had a lot to say anyway except: please rethink the policy.

Well, that was suggested (by Chris, even, if I am not mistaken) but then some people provided feedback that there had already been a CDI on the format of CDIs, and some people thought that a Communication CDI amounted to the same thing. I don’t think it’s the same thing at all, but I get where they’re coming from.

I think it’s just as well. Like you, Marcus, I think that unless they are willing to consider changing their gag order policy, there really isn’t much to discuss. And considering the fact that Mike O Brien started this thread by reiterating their gag order policy and hasn’t responded to a single post since then, they don’t appear to be willing to discuss it.

Whatevs, I guess.

I just wanted to say kudos to the team for creating such a fun and unique birthday present. GW1 was cool with its birthday minis, sure, but in the end you always knew it was going to be some kind of mini. The birthday blaster was a complete surprise, though, and I really like not having any idea what the next present might be.

Thanks for the present, and job well done. It made me smile. :-)

It doesn’t really bother me that it’s soulbound, since all of my characters will eventually get one when their birthday rolls around (which is kind of the purpose anyway).

Inculpatus cedo.9234:

Hey, well, that’s cool. But….

I don’t think anyone knew that was the purpose of the Atlas. I know I didn’t. I thought it was a permanent feature/tool/information-source that would be updated throughout the life of the game. Even if, rather sporadically.

Thanks for the information regarding its true purpose, though. Perhaps, a bit of information about what things like the Atlas’ purpose was might be useful, in the future. =)

Agreed. If a feature (either in-game or on the website) is only going to be available for a limited time, it should be clearly identified as such. Just another one of those pesky communication details that are fortunately easy enough to fix going forward. :-)

Yoda.2839:

I’m sorry if I wasn’t clear. I don’t want announcment of the announcement. I want 1 big blog post instead of many small ones spanned over 3 weeks, with silly titles.

I agree with this. While there’s nothing inherently wrong with such an information rollout, I think the current climate in regards to communication doesn’t really support such a marketing strategy. Many people are simply flat-out tired of ANet dragging its heels in regards to releasing information.

If they were generally more forthcoming with information, such a teaser-type rollout might be fun, but as it is, it just comes off as being more annoying and frustrating than anything else.

My opinion, of course. Your mileage may vary.

Ohoni.6057:

If you promise things and you have a good reason for not delivering, just explain what that reason is, any sensible players will understand and move on.

So true. And even more true if they are careful to manage expectations by clearly communicating that upcoming feature announcements are not “promises” and are subject to change.

The thing is, though I’m sure this isn’t intended, their company policy reveals a sense of disdain for their players on behalf of the policy makers, as they obviously don’t think we are “sensible” enough to comprehend clear communication. Which is kind of offensive, when you think about it (so I won’t, lol).

I’ll end by also quoting this part of Ohoni’s post, which is the feedback that is being repeatedly given, and absolutely must be acted upon by the company policy makers if they ever desire to have a healthy relationship with the majority of its players:

We know that you have a policy to not talk about things until they’re ready to launch, but that policy is toxic, and it needs to go.

Torsailr.8456:

Anet’s lack of communication is not a valid excuse to become a toxic member of the forums.

This is a circular argument. While your statement is 100% true, it is also true to state that the toxic behavior of some forum members is not a valid excuse to justify ANet’s lack of communication with the rest of the community. Someone has to break the cycle, and I believe it should be ANet, since they are the ones in a position of power here.

On another note:

Chris Whiteside.6102:

Huzzah!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjftsPeef_s

For ALS Awareness and fun!

Chris

Wow, Chris, the way you s-l-o-w-l-y drizzled that ice water over James was pure evil! LOL! But kudos to both you and James (especially James!!!) for taking part in the awareness campaign.

Chris Whiteside.6102:

Right just stepping out to give James Smith (Dev Director at Anet) a shower of freezing cold water.

http://www.alsa.org/

BrB.

Chris

Thumbs up for this! :-)

Lilith Ajit.6173:

I’m impressed and surprised by Chris’s continued positivity.

As am I. But he cannot create this change on his own. He needs a culture that supports what he is trying to do, which we are sorely lacking.

A bit more on the subject of managing expectations. I found an article by Annie Pace Scranton on Forbes.com titled “The Top Five Tips For Managing Client Expectations”.

The “meat” of the article is as follows:

Here are the five steps I always try to follow for managing client expectations:

1. Be Honest From The Get-Go. Though it may sound counterintuitive, I always tell potential new clients in the very first initial conversation about possiblyworking together that there are no guarantees. As with most things in life, there are too many factors at play to make any grandiose promises. I can’t predict whether a producer will like a pitch, or a reporter will quote my client. Although it may feel uncomfortable, I think that saying this clearly and in no uncertain terms, positions the client to take a leap of faith in your work and also helps them to understand the process behind your work.

2. Under-Promise , Over-Deliver. This old adage is one to live by! I promise my clients that they will have immediate & constant access to me and my team; that we will, every day, work on their behalf through pitching and meetings with the media; and that if nothing else, it is guaranteed that they will become known to key members of the media. After that, when big interviews start rolling in, it’s much more appreciated!

3. Anticipate the Client’s Needs Before They Know Their Own Need. This one definitely takes time and practice, but think about it: no one knows your business as well as you do. You know when things are going great and when you need to ramp up your efforts. It’s so important to share that with a client through a simple email stating “I’m going to spend extra time this week working on your project – I really want to get you out there as much as you do.” It can go a long way.

4. Constant Communication. If you’re in the service industry of any kind, that is what you do – serve. That means being bubbly, bright and (almost) always available. While of course it’s important to set boundaries so that you can maintain a rewarding personal life, it’s critical that your clients know they can gain access to you as needed. Hopefully just knowing you’re available and ready to jump on a project as needed will be enough so that your client’s won’t abuse your generousity with time.

5. Reports. Probably not anyone’s favorite task during the week, but reports show a clear delineation of work that was done over the course of a week or month. Remember – reports don’t have to be very long, or in a format that clogs up a lot of your time. A simple email detailing tasks completed for the week shows your clients what they’re paying for, and thus, keeps them happy.

Hopefully, by following these steps, you’ll be on a road to an even better relationship with your clients. By following this process, you’ll most likely achieve better results in your work, too.

I sincerely hope this is helpful.

tolunart.2095:

However, a year and a half after an offhand comment about a “precursor scavenger hunt” that was never guaranteed to appear, people still post about it as though the company betrayed the players or something. Today in one of the “red” posts I read that blogs about upcoming features were discontinued because of this kind of behavior.

I understand what you are saying, and I fully admit that there is some validity to being cautious. However, I think the example above indicates a failure to manage expectations. If posts regarding the continued absence of the scavenger hunt had been addressed head-on as they appeared, there would not have been this sense of “betrayal”. But simply deciding not to talk about things at all anymore was a knee-jerk overreaction that has had a net negative effect on the community.

I want to emphasize the “managing expectations” part of my above comment, because I believe it is important. This is where I think we should be letting the devs off the hook and looking towards our Community Team. A dev should not have to take time away from their work to refute mismanaged expectations. This is where the Community Team should be taking over, engaging us with any pertinent updates and/or reminders in regards to content that has not yet materialized.

A few people recently have mentioned Gaile Gray’s work as Community Team Lead in “ye olde days”, which in my opinion was usually top-notch. She seemed to really understand the balance between managing expectations, communicating information, and just plain, ordinary fun interaction with the community for the purpose of pumping everyone up and boosting morale when necessary. What she did not do was deliver vague hype about mysterious future features.

This isn’t meant as a criticism of our current Community Team Lead. I realize that the current company policy ties her hands as much as everyone else’s. I’m not sure what the upper management expects in regards to a Community Team that is barely allowed to speak to the community, let alone discuss issues of substance.

In any case, I think a balance of Dev interaction and Community Team interaction is called for, providing company policy can ensure that any interaction is substantive enough to be worthwhile.

tolunart.2095:

Players have a tendency to take an offhand comment from a “red” post and turn it into a guarantee carved into the side of a mountain in fifty-foot high letters.

Hyperbole.

Some people do take comments as “promises”, I’m not disputing that. But I would argue that it is not the majority of players that do this. In fact, for every post by someone who mentions a “promised” feature, there are often four or five responding posts that point out that nothing was promised. This leads me to believe that this problem is not as insurmountable as people would like to imply.

Bottom line is that if someone interprets general information as a “promise”, that is their own problem. Neither the devs nor the rest of us are responsible for that. That is not a good excuse to have a company policy that hinders the developers’ relationship with the majority of the player community that is perfectly capable of understanding the difference between a preliminary overview of a developing feature and, as you put it, “a guarantee carved into the side of a mountain in fifty-foot high letters.”

Mike O Brien.4613:

We’ve set a clear policy in the past year: we don’t talk speculatively about future development.

ColinJohanson.2394:

“Our company policy is not to talk about what’s in development”.

Sigh. And this is why, despite the near-Herculean effort by the wonderful Chris Whitside, I feel that this latest push to improve communication is, like all other attempts before it, doomed to failure.

I understand why this policy was initially put in place. But you (as a company) are following the letter of the policy to the detriment of your relationship to your community, as opposed to following the spirit of the policy when it makes sense to do so.

Others have already mentioned that there are other ways to accomplish the end goal of not being held accountable for changes in content production that have already been announced:

• Communicate very clearly that things are subject to change (not in tiny print at the bottom of a blog post or in a later follow-up post in a forum thread). I, too, get frustrated when people cling to announcements of future content as “promises” when it is fairly obvious to most of us that they are not written in stone.

• When priorities change or problems arise, you must communicate the delay in implementation. People really only become angry and toxic when they are kept in the dark for long periods of time. This has been the result of your communication policy, and it will not change unless your policy also changes. If you keep us informed, I believe most of us will be on your side.

You are being repeatedly given feedback that your policy does not work as intended. If you do indeed listen to feedback, then do not ignore this. This one little gem could singehandedly change the way the community relates to this company for the good.

DivineRequiem.2710:

And for all you who’ll be all smart about my ranting – there is a difference between improvement suggestions and str8 up whining.

And which of those two categories do you think your post falls into, OP?

This would be great. I miss the bonus buff weekends from GW1.

Shivan.9438:

Despite all the negativity from me and other posters, there’s been three comments from Dev’s on this forum and I feel that it’s from the recent drama.

I rather think that the comments from Devs are because of the recent drama, not in spite of it. In other words, I look forward to the day when it does not take the forums exploding in anger to get some kind of meaningful response.

It is frustrating, really. ANet says it wants communication from its playerbase to be respectful and constructive, and then their actions (or lack thereof) foster the exact opposite by only responding/communicating when the community is in an uproar. I would think it would be obvious to them by now that their methods are flawed.

DragonWhimsy.6489:

It’s a shame two devs had to give up part or all of their weekend to fix this. All the bad publicity could have been avoided if they were more communicative and got feedback on the implementation earlier. And the devs wouldn’t have had to give up their weekend.

Quoted for truth and bolded for emphasis. Not that people don’t appreciate the fact that two devs were dedicated enough to work through the weekend to fix this, because I truly believe people do appreciate their efforts. But the fact remains that ANet’s sloppy and ineffective communication style is at fault here. It would be completely unnecessary to have to do last-minute implementation changes like this if they were communicating in a timely manner. They have only themselves to blame.

wouw.5837:

The reason why they are not open anymore, browse the forums, every time they try to be open and they can’t deliver, they get a major backlash.

As opposed to the backlash they are getting right now because they aren’t communicating? How is this an improvement?

Domino.1359:

Can we at least come to an agreement that the recent interviews are nothing short of embarrassing and not a form of communication with their players?

As long as we place the blame on the higher-ups who are in charge of controlling the flow of information and not on the individual devs who have been unfortunate enough to have been placed in the hot seat while under a gag order, then…

Yes, we can come to such agreement.