Turbine needs direction & focus, AND tell us about future changes to game mechanics

[Captain_Wizbang]

This is not a flame, just criticism and an opinion. I am passionate about the game just as we all are. I personally, am very loyal to the things Im passionate about. And that includes threads & posts like this,

Hey! It's my half of the thing called communication!


The game is evolving, & it's supposed to. Right?

I'm all for change & fine tuning, the game, but the Devs aint talkin & we keep getting dramatic changes made with no advanced warning! Not paranoia, or any chicken little syndrome, but I feel we are headed to a melt down of DDO as we "knew" it, and we the players (AND the cash cow here) are out of the loop! Who's in the loop? Who knows whats coming and give us a heads up? We need that person posting on the boards.

We keep getting classes changed, weapons nerfed and altered to the point of what we were used to, which now makes certain things obsolete, and play styles altered as a result.

We spend a lot of time & resources to develop builds, weapons, etc..., only to have mechanics change so drastically that some people (including me) are skeptical and leery of making a new build just to have it non-functional or worthless in a few months.

At that point I feel its not worth time & effort to commit to something that can be changed at any moment and not have even a little insight form Turbine to the next direction (flavor of the day) takes.

We dont need details to upcoming changes, just a heads up in a general sense would be appropriate.

We were told well in advance about pre changes, so why did that type of communication stop?

We need to know where we are headed, so we can plan a little better, no sense farming for stuff that tomorrow will be obsolete.

The OP is NOT ranting, just opining about all these "cutesie" changes that are watering down what was once the best combat based game around.

We're not asking for an arm & a leg, just a couple of fingers! :cool:

[Ryiah]

We're not asking for an arm & a leg, just a couple of fingers! :cool:

You sure they aren't already giving us a finger? :D

[smeggy1384]

You sure they aren't already giving us a finger? :D

Giving? Maybe they'll put it in the store for points...

[oradafu]

We're not asking for an arm & a leg, just a couple of fingers! :cool:

Actually, melees are asking for an arm and a leg, since casters can do more with wiggling fingers. ;)

[Captain_Wizbang]

Notice I keep mentioning WE, because this thread is for US the player base!

As the OP, I need the support of the players, not posts that defend the other side of the argument. (because everybody on these boards have been upset in one way or another about changes, and you know you have posted about them)

[Captain_Wizbang]

Actually, melees are asking for an arm and a leg, since casters can do more with wiggling fingers. ;)

+ 1 Thats funny stuff!

[MaximusParthas]

An example to your argument would be this:

I had a guildie who built an incredible turtle tank. like 100 ac with 85 intim. he spent months farming, tr'ing and twinking to get it to that point. then, not more than a couple weeks after he finished u9 came out and made his build totally obsolete. many people would have been upset enough to ragequit. instead he tr'ed again and made something else. but lo and behold a couple months later u11 brings his original build back into validity! such a total waste of time and effort. had he received any inkling that his build would still be functional in a few months he might not have let everything go and kept it on hold. instead, insult to injury he ended up with a total wash and all that tiresome investment in effort/plat/grind/resources was in vain.

[Angelus_dead]

I'm all for change & fine tuning, the game, but the Devs aint talkin & we keep getting MAJOR & DRASTIC changes made with no advanced warning!
It's true that it would be very useful for Turbine to publish more information about what their intentions and evaluations are... but it's funny that you talk about "MAJOR DRASTIC" changes.

Actually, the changes to DDO have been small, both in comparison to what is commonplace in other games, and compared to what could be reasonable approaches to fix longterm problems.

[Antheal]

Perhaps they're just trying to stealth-discourage min/maxing, but aren't very good at it.

Making characters that are able to generalise and be versatile instead of one-trick specialists, and there's less chance of disappointment when (and you know it's "when") changes are made.

[7-day_Trial_Monkey]

I'm all for change & fine tuning, the game, but the Devs aint talkin & we keep getting MAJOR & DRASTIC changes made with no advanced warning!

Like what? Can you give any examples of these MAJOR & DRASTIC changes that we keep getting?

[Callavan]

Like what? Can you give any examples of these MAJOR & DRASTIC changes that we keep getting?

Oh, you know. +3 tomes up for sale in store, artificer class up for sale in store, artificer adventure pack up for sale in store... and game bosses getting a major HP & fortification boost (not for sale in store).

Not sure what the OP means about the lack of regular communication. We get quarterly wallpapers and screenshots of the week!

:D

[My2Cents]

I can understand the OP's very reasonable desire to be informed as to the direction and focus of Turbine.

I do not see any indication that there is none, nor any reason to assume there is none.

They are not the first company not to publish their intentions. You should see my power company, whose communications are frequent, sound very official, and are generally some combination of self-interest and excuses, designed to hoodwink their customers or perhaps just to indicate that they don't care.

Then there's my "phone company" that tends not to be available by phone.

Then there's my bank, who now wants to charge me to take my money, to hold my money, and to allow meto spend my money, while they invest my money to make money so they no longer have to lend any money.

Sure, I'd like to know more about what Turbine is doing, but on balance, they're not hurting me too much, although I admit I wish the store prices were scaled for limited income people and they have to be very careful not to become pay-required-to-play.

[7-day_Trial_Monkey]

Oh, you know. +3 tomes up for sale in store, artificer class up for sale in store, artificer adventure pack up for sale in store... and game bosses getting a major HP & fortification boost (not for sale in store).

Not sure what the OP means about the lack of regular communication. We get quarterly wallpapers and screenshots of the week!

:D

How exactly is any of that major or drastic?

[Captain_Wizbang]

"MAJOR DRASTIC" changes.

Actually, the changes to DDO have been small, both in comparison to what is commonplace in other games, and compared to what could be reasonable approaches to fix longterm problems.

Thanks for pointing out the wording that made the point over done.
Edited .

Thanks again, and I agree with the highlighted portion of your post, but my point stands. Its all about communication.

[Callavan]

How exactly is any of that major or drastic?

It isn't. I was being sarcastic. Well, the bit about the bosses might qualify as major or drastic. Probably not both, though.

:cool:

I do agree that better communication from the devs would be nice.

[herzkos]

i'll agree with the op, it would be nice to get some communication from
turbine about the future of the game. of course, then the playerbase
would have to respond appropriately to the folks posting and not
nitpick them to death. also, we'd have to actually read what they post
and not read into it.

[mournbladereigns]

Like the Cylon's, Turbine has a plan.

They're not gonna tell you about it, because the moment they change anything in such a plan, or even appear to have changed it. Whiny players will nerdrage about how Turbine hates them and makes them QQ. tru stry.

[7-day_Trial_Monkey]

Like the Cylon's, Turbine has a plan.

They're not gonna tell you about it, because the moment they change anything in such a plan, or even appear to have changed it. Whiny players will nerdrage about how Turbine hates them and makes them QQ. tru stry.

According to much of the playerbase, there is no such thing as plans. Anything Turbine posts is a promise!

[gloopygloop]

Instead of direction and focus, maybe they could just get direction and magnitude. Then they could steal the moon and ransom it for enough money to pay for extra programmers and QA staff.

[GermanicusMaximus]

How exactly is any of that major or drastic?

1) +3 tomes up for sale in store

Just some drama some people are currently caught up in because they interpret Turbine communications to mean what they want them to mean, not what they actually mean

2) artificer class up for sale in store

Previous iteration of (1). Yes, we have a lot of drama in the forums, and eventually old drama must be replaced with new drama

3) artificer adventure pack up for sale in store

[shrugs] Who knows? Maybe (1) is already getting old, and at least someone needs new new drama

4) game bosses getting a major HP & fortification boost

Aside from other issues, this gimps toons with certain builds that some people spent a lot of time and effort into crafting. Yes, we actually do have some real issues discussed on the forums.

Like people, companies have strengths and weaknesses. Turbine does some things very well. Customer communication is not one of them. The endless nerf cycle is bad enough. Failing to give advance warning just makes it worse.

[Vellrad]

Well building flavor of the month was never best option in the 'longer run'.

[charease]

Notice I keep mentioning WE, because this thread is for US the player base!

As the OP, I need the support of the players, not posts that defend the other side of the argument. (because everybody on these boards have been upset in one way or another about changes, and you know you have posted about them)

Turbine doesn't care, they ignore the people who have issues sweep us under the rugs and pretend like our comments were never made. If you kiss their ass and say oh thank you for screwing us they'll actually say thank you.The player base is split 2 ways far as I can tell those who think turbine is doing a great job??, and then those that have been saying for a good while now changes need to be made we want to know where the games going etc, we get flamed by those saying ddo's perfect as is and the devs just don't care.

so good luck getting anything but flamed.

[charease]

According to much of the playerbase, there is no such thing as plans. Anything Turbine posts is a promise!

On events and updates ya it's a promise I pay them they make changes. It's the whole they take money aspect that changes it from an idea to a promise. They stop taking our money we lose the right to ***** about twhat they say.

[7-day_Trial_Monkey]

On events and updates ya it's a promise I pay them they make changes. It's the whole they take money aspect that changes it from an idea to a promise. They stop taking our money we lose the right to ***** about twhat they say.

I can't ever agree with what you just said. It strikes me as incredibly narrow minded. There can only ever be plans. Otherwise you are saying unexpected problems can never occur. And that is not in any way a realistic expectation.

[Galeria]

They need to develop a public relations department. I have no doubt Warner Brothers could help them to structure one correctly.

[gloopygloop]

They need to develop a public relations department. I have no doubt Warner Brothers could help them to structure one correctly.

They already have a community relations team. Those are the people who hand out infractions and delete threads.

...or did you mean that they should do more than that?

[Captain_Wizbang]

I need to also say, Turbine has given us heads up many times, but it's the consistency, and accountability of whats said, that needs improvement.

[Xionanx]

Yeah, I'd love to see a "Road Map" of some such, that outlines plans for the future. Just something basic like: Q1 2012 Druid Q2 2012 Complete Server Wide Q3 2012 Druid Again**:p

[Lord_Thanatos]

I need to also say, Turbine has given us heads up many times, but it's the consistency, and accountability of whats said, that needs improvement.

Bolded for truth, Turbine really needs to work on consistency when it comes to development. For one, I have never seen another game that has as many old, game-stopping or just major bugs come back or stay unfixed.

Cove being afflicted by the same bug that occurred last time being one example.

[Afyndax]

I don´t have much experience with DDO, but in other games, some builds were nerfed because the devs never foresaw them being used that way. It breaks the integrity of the dungeon and pretty soon éveryone´ feels like they need to do it that way or get left behind. It sucks, but sometimes being ´too creative´ just has to be nerfed for the good of the game. In other words, ´if I use this item, have this feat and this skill, and get this buff.. this endgame boss will never damage me.´

[GoMeansGreen]

I don't really care what they do, except that I miss the flavor of Old School AD&D, even just plain old D&D. I don't like the feat system very much, but it works ok, with the enhancement system. More detailed explanations would be nice. I suppose I could read the official rules. I don't like kobolds... they should have an expansion that wipes out all kobolds. Other stuff can move in, same quest, haha... ok, make it better, instead, but forget kobolds... that stupid grunt they make when they die, for example. Whackamole to the extreme. Better off just to forget about it. Eliminate.

anyways... re: turdine (j/k) ... and TP, i mean Turbine Points... they try, they like what they do, although probably not all to the extreme you want, especially with this economy. Main problem, conformity to the status quo. Can't improve Korthos... though they did try. I do like the new Heyton's quest, except for the overly happy DM voice. Like, give Stormreach a paint job or something?

let it go. imagine how much they are hurting for paychecks with this economy and everyone (including me) favor farming. Hey, thanks for the bonus TP, i ran out. REally like the alter time necklace i got, guess it is one per account? I plan on buying more.

[Firesmall_at]

You can say they change it because MMOs are like a bad drug. That can be good or bad.

Bad if you keep grinding your life away and not enjoying the other game content or the new game content. Bad if you do not get out into real life at all. Lose out on opportunities you may want or could want in the real.

Good if knowing that perfect build you make may be obsolete with the next update, so maybe you won't try so hard to get all those rare drops and doing the crazy grinding to achieve it. Good if it keeps you off the streets at night and out of trouble. Out of bars and off the real drugs that waste your life, health and money away.

Moderation.

[GoMeansGreen]

you Can Say They Change It Because Mmos Are Like A Bad Drug. That Can Be Good Or Bad.

Bad If You Keep Grinding Your Life Away And Not Enjoying The Other Game Content Or The New Game Content. Bad If You Do Not Get Out Into Real Life At All. Lose Out On Opportunities You May Want Or Could Want In The Real.

Good If Knowing That Perfect Build You Make May Be Obsolete With The Next Update, So Maybe You Won't Try So Hard To Get All Those Rare Drops And Doing The Crazy Grinding To Achieve It. Good If It Keeps You Off The Streets At Night And Out Of Trouble. Out Of Bars And Off The Real Drugs That Waste Your Life, Health And Money Away.

Moderation.
+1

[Xionanx]

Ehh, I can understand nerfing when its needed. For instance in Rift there was a warrior build that made you IMMUNE to damage (actually got the IMMUNE) message to SEVERAL end game boss fights. Yeah, if you were smart enough to figure it out on your own, or at least competent enough to search build forums, you could find it. Whats more with the nature of being allowed to have up to 5 builds on a single toon that you could swap between freely and at no cost... well, needless to say it didn't take a rocket scientist to realize you just set up one of your builds as this build and never touch it again.

That abuse went on for about a month before they patched that ****, but they didn't completely nerf it into the ground, it still worked "mostly" and was still the best build for those fights.

Anywho... I thought I had a point to this but no.. I dont now that I think about it.:p