Why Stratics is better than Twitter.

[GalenKnighthawke]

It's simple, really. The character limit here is higher. This is an old game and it's functionally impossible to fully describe, let alone fully discuss, most problems within Twitter's character limit. Sure we have lots of trolls and other difficult species represented here, but at least here full discussion is not a physical implausibility.

On Twitter, it is.

I will grant that such discussion here may be a social implausibility. But that's a separate discussion.

-Galen's player

 

[Shelleybean]

I think it's cool that Jeff gives us tidbits via Twitter, but I'm not really into Twitter or Face Book and such. I basically look for updates on uoherald and here. I'm grateful for Stratics, that's for sure.

 

[Taylor]

I think that forums are a more robust social networking medium than either Facebook or Twitter. As Galen mentioned, forums are better suited to conversations than Twitter. Further, forums provide a greater sense of community, as well as better privacy, than Facebook. Maybe forums are a dated medium, but I think think that they wftpwn Facebook and Twitter.

 

[G.v.P]

It's simple, really. The character limit here is higher. This is an old game and it's functionally impossible to fully describe, let alone fully discuss, most problems within Twitter's character limit. Sure we have lots of trolls and other difficult species represented here, but at least here full discussion is not a physical implausibility.

On Twitter, it is.

I will grant that such discussion here may be a social implausibility. But that's a separate discussion.

-Galen's player

tldr

sorry, had to, lol.

Draconi, for the most part, was very open with fans, whether it was here on Stratics, or Facebook. Cal was very active here as well. Jeff gave the longest video interview anyone has ever done for this game since RG, and he prefers Twitter. They all do it differently.

The reason why Twitter is great is because 99% of the things we'd ask Jeff can be answered in two-or-three characters. Are we getting a true 3D client? No. Are we going to get future dungeon upgrades? Yes. Haha. Maybe I'm bias because I use Twitter every night to cover games, but you can do a lot with 140-chars ;d.

 

[Rupert Avery]

I agree with you there! in the 6 monthsish Jeff has been with us he has tried to be active in the community.. responding to everyone he has time to respond to! and for that Jeff you are my favourite Producer to date

 

[Vlaude]

I like Jeff a lot. He's honest, open to community suggestions, and responds to pressing issues. He's a busy man though, which is why twitter is convenient for him.

I do love Stratics though, and we're pretty special to have BioWare employees posting here regularly.

 

[GalenKnighthawke]

Well here is an example of what I mean.

Myself and many other RolePlayers have long wanted the ability to put the stats of one item onto another item in the same slot. For example, I could turn one of my characters' Rune Beetle Carapace into a Chain Mail Tunic with identical stats. It's similar to what we can do with vet reward robes and dresses.

But there's no fancy, Twitter-friendly way to ask for that that is not easily mistaken for something else.

And how many bugs display characteristics that are very difficult to squeeze into the Twitter format?

I would hate to think that the only things that'll get done from now forth are things that can be easily Twittered.

I like Jeff overall. He has many virtues. He came across very well, overall, in Wathcertoo's awesome interview. And I recognize that communicating on Stratics has a lot of issues in and of itself.

But really this game has stuff that needs to be proposed, pointed out, or discussed, that are hard to squeeze into Twitter.

-Galen's player

 

[Martyna Zmuir]

Well, we do have the option of PMing him info to "ensure" he gets it.

While I agree that Twitter isn't an ideal format for meaningful communication, it IS better than nothing. It's also more communication then we got from Cal, so points there.

Only thing I'd like to see is more communication and some ongoing discussions about future changes.

 

[Sevin0oo0]

meaning no disrespect to the dead, I was just remembering them old days w/ Cal, and watching him cower under Mesanna's iron hand and cold steel boots when releasing future change information, makes me wonder how Jeff will me - I think he has No Fear written all over him, so it'll be interesting.

 

[Taylor]

Well, we do have the option of PMing him info to "ensure" he gets it.

Aye.

Also, for folks who really like Twitter, using the @ sign with a username will send the user an alert, just like on Twitter. E.g., @Syrus

 

[Woodsman]

Only thing I'd like to see is more communication and some ongoing discussions about future changes.

But really this game has stuff that needs to be proposed, pointed out, or discussed, that are hard to squeeze into Twitter.

-Galen's player

I think it's great that Jeff can be easily reached by some people on Twitter, but when was the last time we truly got a "state of UO" as far as the present condition and future plans?

In the last producer's letter, we only learned about one new thing: they want to add value to plate armor. Everything else mentioned in the producer's letter was a repeat of previous statements/letters.

In the last producer's video/interview, we learned that Publish 75 was coming this month. Oh and subscriptions have climbed (I wonder if that was related to the account migration being finished and account timers being turned back on, forcing people who suspended their accounts during the migration to pony up). We also got some really vague stuff that could have easily been lifted from any other producer's letter or video.

I hope PC Gamer doesn't let them be just as vague.

Jeff played UO in the early days. Surely he remembers how much they communicated with us. Hell, he knows how much information BioWare is pumping out about Mass Effect 3 and Star Wars: The Old Republic. Mists of Pandaria isn't even out yet and Blizzard is bombarding the media with information.

 

[Martyna Zmuir]

I think it's great that Jeff can be easily reached by some people on Twitter, but when was the last time we truly got a "state of UO" as far as the present condition and future plans?

I think the backlash over a few things Jeff said in Watchertoo's video chat (No NPE, backhanded "support" of cheaters, etc.) caught him by surprise.

IMHO, I almost have to believe Jeff formed those decisions in a vacuum. They are contrary to what we were told last March (granted, that was by Cal.. but still) and they are just poor, poor business decisions. With the 15th anniversary coming up, he can't honestly believe that essentially telling the media "we don't care about new players and we're thinking of caving to the scripters" is going to go over well, especially with current players.

Personally, I'd rather they work on a decent NPE than give us a half dozen grinds disguised as "events." They must have some metric showing participation so far is minimal at best...

This is why I think there needs to be an ongoing back-and-forth between the players and the Devs before things get set in stone.

 

[Woodsman]

I think the backlash over a few things Jeff said in Watchertoo's video chat (No NPE, backhanded "support" of cheaters, etc.) caught him by surprise.

But like you and Deckard and a few others have said (and JC and I think even GalenKnighthawke) there is this air of secrecy that is taken to ludicrous lengths (just watched Space Balls again so I've made ludicrous today's word). I can't blame Jeff for that because it goes back before him, and from looking at Stratics goes back quite a few years.

IMHO, I almost have to believe Jeff formed those decisions in a vacuum. They are contrary to what we were told last March (granted, that was by Cal.. but still) and they are just poor, poor business decisions.

I know some don't like Cal, but last March, Cal and Mesanna and Supreem laid out what seemed like a good plan for UO going forward: Redesign the dungeons/mobs, redesign the quest system to not be so grindy, create a new New Player Experience, and update the graphics to a higher resolution (although that that may have been a later announcement).

Jeff is continuing the dungeon redesign started last year, the quest system - who knows, the upgraded EC graphics are being done and the budget was increased for those graphics, but we just haven't been able to see anything yet.

But the redesigned New User Experience is being discarded in favor of things for existing or returning players, which makes no logical business sense. You can design new content for existing or returning players, but then a month later that content has been beaten to death by everybody interested and you're right back to where you are.

Basing your business on attracting a group of players who have already proven they have no problems with quitting your game at least once before....

At least bringing in new players would benefit everybody and would have long-term benefits.

 

[Sevin0oo0]

for existing or returning players... What made You start playing? just stumbled across it and thought you'd try it? For me, my friends, and even friends of friends, it was our friends in playing some cool sounding game, and they were all excited and having fun, and we wanted that too. i think a sub will last longer when pulled into the game by a friend, than say a store display or new player experiences which in a week are over, a fleeting experience compared to what a Vet could offer

 

[Woodsman]

i think a sub will last longer when pulled into the game by a friend, than say a store display or new player experiences which in a week are over, a fleeting experience compared to what a Vet could offer

While I agree that people who are pulled by friends are likely to stick around, I think the supply of willing friends that we can pull in these days is rather low, otherwise UO would be swimming in players and we'd be complaining about the lack of housing on the lower populated shards.

If you don't have a decent new user experience that explains the basics of UO in the first few hours that a new player is in the game, you're going to have a lot of new players who never become vet players.

 

[Martyna Zmuir]

But like you and Deckard and a few others have said (and JC and I think even GalenKnighthawke) there is this air of secrecy that is taken to ludicrous lengths (just watched Space Balls again so I've made ludicrous today's word). I can't blame Jeff for that because it goes back before him, and from looking at Stratics goes back quite a few years.

The secrecy really started with Cal, or was seriously ramped up during his tenure. Draconi used to openly talk about many things being worked on, though sometimes in vague terms. After SA dropped, it was like Mythic had captured a downed UFO. This ludicrous state of affairs has sadly continued into Jeff's time.

I know some don't like Cal, but last March, Cal and Mesanna and Supreem laid out what seemed like a good plan for UO going forward: Redesign the dungeons/mobs, redesign the quest system to not be so grindy, create a new New Player Experience, and update the graphics to a higher resolution (although that that may have been a later announcement).

Jeff is continuing the dungeon redesign started last year, the quest system - who knows, the upgraded EC graphics are being done and the budget was increased for those graphics, but we just haven't been able to see anything yet.

But the redesigned New User Experience is being discarded in favor of things for existing or returning players, which makes no logical business sense. You can design new content for existing or returning players, but then a month later that content has been beaten to death by everybody interested and you're right back to where you are.

Basing your business on attracting a group of players who have already proven they have no problems with quitting your game at least once before....

At least bringing in new players would benefit everybody and would have long-term benefits.

Grimm seems to indicate that there is progress being made on the artwork front. While we haven't seen proof of this yet, I am choosing to believe that he isn't going to knowingly lie to us. Since we've been told that there was extra spending on art outsourcing, I'm choosing to be optimistic. Cautiously optimistic.

The dungeon revamps needed to be done, as the anniversary items have ceased to be a draw. However, I personally feel they are tipping the scales too far towards vets. Level 1 of Shame used to be a great place for newbs to go to train skills. Now, you're lucky if you aren't mobbed to death at the first intersection (the Devs don't seem to understand population density very well). Hopefully a newbie friendly dungeon will be added to New Haven (I've always wondered why there wasn't one there) as part of this pass...especially if they aren't going to do an NPE.

Thr future health of UO requires both content current players, something to potentially lure back past players, and a way for new players to enter the game without feeling overwhelmed.

 

[MalagAste]

Well I've said it before and I'll say it again... I'm willing to bet at least 60% of the population of UO doesn't read stratics, they don't read twitter, they don't tweet or use facebook, and they don't even read the publish notes on the Herald.

I don't tweet or use facebook and I don't care who's or what is on them, I'm not ever going to be using them ever. I see them as a massive invasion of privacy and somewhat as lining someones pocket while stealing jobs from hundreds of folk who used to do surveys... now one person is getting rich off of knowing and selling everything you look at and everything you do. Kinda makes me ill. But I refuse to play that game.

At any rate I have often felt Stratics was "the" place to go to voice opinions about the game, to find out what is happening and what is in the future for UO. While I don't think that has changed much except that voicing your opinion might get you into trouble if your opinion isn't very positive towards the DEV's.... but so be it.

I don't believe that there is any way to really get the feel of the community beyond going to the community and asking... if you really want to know what the playerbase thinks about things I think you need to ask them.... In-game.

Years ago we used to have the DEV's come in-game and talk to us... I remember because I was there. Because honestly a vast majority of the players don't come here either. I don't even think most of them read the patch notes on the splash screen either...

How would I know? Because anytime there is a patch, a publish or a change I can bet on having 20 or more ICQ's from folk asking ME what's going on... Or when I'm monitoring chat I hear and answer dozens of questions regarding things...

I've often wondered how folk can say they "care" about UO but never read anything about what's going on... maybe that's just me.

 

[Woodsman]

The secrecy really started with Cal, or was seriously ramped up during his tenure. Draconi used to openly talk about many things being worked on, though sometimes in vague terms. After SA dropped, it was like Mythic had captured a downed UFO. This ludicrous state of affairs has sadly continued into Jeff's time.

I played Warhammer and a little Camelot back around the time Warhammer came out, and the secrecy stuff really applies to all three games.

I will never understand why those three games are so secretive when all the other MMORPGs are not.

 

[Sevin0oo0]

Well ... I'm willing to bet at least 60% of the population of UO doesn't read stratics, they don't read twitter, they don't tweet or use facebook, and they don't even read the publish notes on the Herald.

I know i've wondered that too, as I'm constantly running into people in-game going "wtf is going on?", While telling them I usually ask if they missed it on Stratics, getting a "What's that?" in return. I'm thinking how in the heck do these people stay up, or do they even know what a story arc is? I'm guessing they simple don't, and are missing out on a tremendous amount of content. But they seem happy and appear to be having fun so I leave it alone. I blame the informational patch screen.