C
canary
Guest
Nah, I beta'ed the last two expansions.Butt if you don't kisssssssss, wont that deminish the odds of being a beta tester? Life is so confusing
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ZERO on Friday...
- Thread starter Prince Caspian
- Start date
- Watchers 4
To whom it applies.
Allow me to introduce some of you to some little known words and concepts.
Polite requests. They do get answered, it was a 'polite request' that got extra red healers located in Felucca.
Common Courtesy. It costs nothing and is far more likely to meet with a positive response than rudeness.
Constructive Criticism. It's when you mention a problem and suggest a possible solution without insulting the person/organisation you are criticising.
Respect. If you give it, you're likely to get it in return.
Our devs go way above and beyond what is strictly speaking required by any employer. I've seen Dev posts that were timed and dated something like 2am on Sunday morning more than once.
To Green Mouser, your faith in me leaves me grossly underwhelmed. I hope I don't disappoint you.
Allow me to introduce some of you to some little known words and concepts.
Polite requests. They do get answered, it was a 'polite request' that got extra red healers located in Felucca.
Common Courtesy. It costs nothing and is far more likely to meet with a positive response than rudeness.
Constructive Criticism. It's when you mention a problem and suggest a possible solution without insulting the person/organisation you are criticising.
Respect. If you give it, you're likely to get it in return.
Our devs go way above and beyond what is strictly speaking required by any employer. I've seen Dev posts that were timed and dated something like 2am on Sunday morning more than once.
To Green Mouser, your faith in me leaves me grossly underwhelmed. I hope I don't disappoint you.
C
canary
Guest
Respect is also a two way street, and on more than one occasion the UO team has dropped the ball. It generally tends to happen with deafening silence on their part, which leads to an outcry from the public.
Reader Alert 
: I am not a pom-pom waiver. If you cannot handle an honest opinion, or feel the need to shield the Dev Team from all criticism - SKIP THIS POST - take a valium and proceed to the Yew moongate in Felucca. :gun:
You have been warned.
---
UO is a business. Holding the Devs to a certain level of professionalism, expecting communication, and the continuation of three years worth of tradition (FoF) isn't cracking the whip by any stretch of the imagination.
Layoffs and 'restructuring' is a lamentable fact of the sad economic times, it is unfortunate that EA was braindead enough to slash the UO team - their only truly successful MMO to date. However, Mythic IS still a business, and they have responsibilities to uphold. I see friends get fired/laid off from my work more often than is comfortable, but were that to affect MY work performance I would be swiftly following them out the door. Buck up, move on, and keep on task.
Theoretically, multiple patches in one week is a good thing, and it’s pleasing that they are being responsive to bugs... However, these patches wouldn't have been necessary had the original publish been properly tested - since many if not all the exploits/issues were known on TC and Origin. How about some patches for the outstanding bugs and issues? EC? Faction fixes? Etc… “Soon” holds no credibility.
Continual additions of content is a good thing (it is also expected of an MMO), it is not, however, a substitute for communication. Customer service has never been kept at a consistent level throughout UO’s run, and that’s NOT acceptable. You pay for UO. You should expect excellent customer service and communication from anyone you do business with. If Blizzard can communicate with its subscribers in a consistent and meaningful manner, so can Mythic.
Working late and on weekends is common in the game industry, especially at crunch time. If they’re posting from home or on their day of, yes that IS going above and beyond. What many people are dissatisfied with is the severe lack of ‘official’ and expected communication (Calvin’s bit of damage control fluff notwithstanding.)
: I am not a pom-pom waiver. If you cannot handle an honest opinion, or feel the need to shield the Dev Team from all criticism - SKIP THIS POST - take a valium and proceed to the Yew moongate in Felucca. :gun: You have been warned.
---
UO is a business. Holding the Devs to a certain level of professionalism, expecting communication, and the continuation of three years worth of tradition (FoF) isn't cracking the whip by any stretch of the imagination.
Layoffs and 'restructuring' is a lamentable fact of the sad economic times, it is unfortunate that EA was braindead enough to slash the UO team - their only truly successful MMO to date. However, Mythic IS still a business, and they have responsibilities to uphold. I see friends get fired/laid off from my work more often than is comfortable, but were that to affect MY work performance I would be swiftly following them out the door. Buck up, move on, and keep on task.
Theoretically, multiple patches in one week is a good thing, and it’s pleasing that they are being responsive to bugs... However, these patches wouldn't have been necessary had the original publish been properly tested - since many if not all the exploits/issues were known on TC and Origin. How about some patches for the outstanding bugs and issues? EC? Faction fixes? Etc… “Soon” holds no credibility.
Continual additions of content is a good thing (it is also expected of an MMO), it is not, however, a substitute for communication. Customer service has never been kept at a consistent level throughout UO’s run, and that’s NOT acceptable. You pay for UO. You should expect excellent customer service and communication from anyone you do business with. If Blizzard can communicate with its subscribers in a consistent and meaningful manner, so can Mythic.
Working late and on weekends is common in the game industry, especially at crunch time. If they’re posting from home or on their day of, yes that IS going above and beyond. What many people are dissatisfied with is the severe lack of ‘official’ and expected communication (Calvin’s bit of damage control fluff notwithstanding.)
A
altarego
Guest
I never said or implied that we shouldn't hold the devs accountable for the game itself. But lambasting them about the FoF, which was more of a token gesture rather than any significant source of content or communication - at a time when they're in the getting things resettled - is neither positive, nor truly criticism.
Face it, this isn't really about the FoF. A lot of the naysayers here are just frustrated by the lack of communication regarding the changes going on behind the scenes at Mythic. The FoF is just a convenient little target for them to project their feelings of powerlessness.
Face it, this isn't really about the FoF. A lot of the naysayers here are just frustrated by the lack of communication regarding the changes going on behind the scenes at Mythic. The FoF is just a convenient little target for them to project their feelings of powerlessness.
Three years is a bit more than a token gesture...
Before EA's meltdown, we actually has some decent FoFs with useful information. It is sad to see the FoF disappear.
Are people upset over a myriad other issues and projecting some? Yes, definately. The FoF is currently one piece of a much larger group of issues.
Before EA's meltdown, we actually has some decent FoFs with useful information. It is sad to see the FoF disappear.
Are people upset over a myriad other issues and projecting some? Yes, definately. The FoF is currently one piece of a much larger group of issues.
I have a feeling that the era of the Five on Friday is over.
Whether or not that's a bad thing depends to a large degree on what it's going to be replaced with, if anything.
-Galen's player
Whether or not that's a bad thing depends to a large degree on what it's going to be replaced with, if anything.
-Galen's player
K
Kiminality
Guest
The Five of Friday represented, generally, the devs paying attention to the players.
If nothing else, it was symbol that the devs were aware of the players' existence, and giving a nod to the fact that their questions are seen.
It's all about recognition - consider the threads that devolve into rage, because the Devs don't post in there. Then consider the threads that don't, because a dev does respond. Most often, the response is a general "on the RADAR" or some other ultimately non-committal post, but people feel better for it.
Right now, we're in the wake of the mystery lay-offs, and some poorly-timed bugs/exploits, people are concerned.
Things don't look completely promising, and doomsayers are coming out of the woodwork with proclamations of "maintenance mode" and such. The players look to the devs for recognition that their concerns are known, and are greeted with silence.
Is anyone honestly surprised people are getting worked up?
My thoughts on the matter:
1.) The remaining devs have got their heads down, working their arses off until the dust settles - See: Bug fixes
2.) Through whatever tangled webs are woven, no one can actually comment on the lay-offs - See: Silence
I was never fond of the FoF format.
Five answers per week, and if you were really lucky, a couple of them would be of direct interest to you. The different playstyles in UO are too many to be covered by 5 bullet points per week, and even if they were, there'd be some perceived issues overlooked and uproar ensues.
A more flexible format would serve better.
If nothing else, it was symbol that the devs were aware of the players' existence, and giving a nod to the fact that their questions are seen.
It's all about recognition - consider the threads that devolve into rage, because the Devs don't post in there. Then consider the threads that don't, because a dev does respond. Most often, the response is a general "on the RADAR" or some other ultimately non-committal post, but people feel better for it.
Right now, we're in the wake of the mystery lay-offs, and some poorly-timed bugs/exploits, people are concerned.
Things don't look completely promising, and doomsayers are coming out of the woodwork with proclamations of "maintenance mode" and such. The players look to the devs for recognition that their concerns are known, and are greeted with silence.
Is anyone honestly surprised people are getting worked up?
My thoughts on the matter:
1.) The remaining devs have got their heads down, working their arses off until the dust settles - See: Bug fixes
2.) Through whatever tangled webs are woven, no one can actually comment on the lay-offs - See: Silence
I was never fond of the FoF format.
Five answers per week, and if you were really lucky, a couple of them would be of direct interest to you. The different playstyles in UO are too many to be covered by 5 bullet points per week, and even if they were, there'd be some perceived issues overlooked and uproar ensues.
A more flexible format would serve better.
F
five oclock
Guest
I was never fond of the FoF format.
Five answers per week, and if you were really lucky, a couple of them would be of direct interest to you. The different playstyles in UO are too many to be covered by 5 bullet points per week, and even if they were, there'd be some perceived issues overlooked and uproar ensues.
A more flexible format would serve better.
So is it ok then to Ask Kelmo 10 on Tuesdays then? :hey its a T n T
as for what everyone is saying..Im going back to mining.....In Fel..for some reason that seems less stressful than the boards lately
Five answers per week, and if you were really lucky, a couple of them would be of direct interest to you. The different playstyles in UO are too many to be covered by 5 bullet points per week, and even if they were, there'd be some perceived issues overlooked and uproar ensues.
A more flexible format would serve better.
So is it ok then to Ask Kelmo 10 on Tuesdays then? :hey its a T n T
as for what everyone is saying..Im going back to mining.....In Fel..for some reason that seems less stressful than the boards lately
You are all assuming that such 'deafening silences' are their choice. It's not always so. I know now, though I didn't at the time, that there was a period under Mark Jacob's period in charge when the developers were not allowed to post on the boards.
None of you make any allowances for the fact that the developers hands (or tongues?) are often tied, and while they may want to keep us informed, they're not allowed to. Case in point, the lack of information on who's still at Mythic, who was laid off and who left voluntarily, taking it as an opportunity to move on with their career.
Well... the "who is at Mythic" stuff, to be frank, is none of our business. If someone wants to tell us that they were laid off, fine, but we need to leave that stuff be.
As for the "hand/tongue tying" of developers, it's the company in general, not the developers, that I hold responsible for silences (myself... can't speak for others), but I will say these silences do damage to the property that is Ultima Online. Part of the reason that Blizzard is so successful is their open lines of communication. They have cut and canned games before, they've "promised" changes that never came to fruition, and have even talked about "player housing" in WoW which has never come to the light of day... these things have all been and can be hot button issues, but Blizzard doesn't ignore them.
Of course, and no offense to Stratics here, Blizzard (and many other online games) have their own official forums with their own official staff, and have companies behind them that understand that an Online Community Coordinator is an IMPORTANT feature of ANY ONLINE game -- something that EA continues to struggle with. Which is not surprising given that EA still, after 12 years, largely does not understand why UO is a success.
