Should the Devs have a talking point Developers log?

[dodgerrule.8739]

This would feature about what developers are thinking or some small projects they are working on.

This would enlighten the community to better understand and allow us to see what is being worked on instead of being completely silent this may be a way for developers to talk about what’s going on.

I think Guild Wars 2 could benefit from something like this.

[kharmin.7683]

I prefer the developers to actually work on content rather than some sort of public log

[zealex.9410]

@kharmin.7683 said:I prefer the developers to actually work on content rather than some sort of public log

Id rather knowing that they work on new and exciting stuff that guessing if they work on stuff or not.

Like for example, is an expansion in the works? Are elite specs comming? What will the cadence of the icebrood saga look like?

Plus i dont see how giving us this info on blog posts or anything takes away any dev time. Does anet use their cm as developers to work on this stuff?

[kharmin.7683]

We already know that (seemingly) whenever ANet has told us something was coming, and if it missed the mark, then they got slammed for it. I don't fault them for no longer putting these things out there. The playerbase can be ruthless.

[zealex.9410]

@kharmin.7683 said:We already know that (seemingly) whenever ANet has told us something was coming, and if it missed the mark, then they got slammed for it. I don't fault them for no longer putting these things out there. The playerbase can be ruthless.

Because they fail to set propper expectations and give a fair timeframe. Eso doesnt give dates and instead gives quarters and that works fine, also expansions there arent a maybe, they know the next one is being worked on.

Ofc ppl are gonna be mad when anet has a 2 to 3 month schedule and then delay the content by a month in some cases.

[kharmin.7683]

ESO is a different business model, no?

[zealex.9410]

@kharmin.7683 said:ESO is a different business model, no?

Poe and warframe which also live off of mucrotransactions are more open on their developments.

[PseudoNewb.5468]

I think it is safe to say, what they have already said is the only things they are working on. People have compiled all announcements. I doubt any sort of log or release plan will have anything more.

[Bast.7253]

Yeah, I think it's safe to assume the only thing they are working on is Living Story episodes, build templates, and sometime in the next decade wvw alliances. They've given us a list of things they would like to do, like pvp mini seasons and events, but it doesn't sound like they've really hit development yet.

Anything that wasn't mentioned, like an expansion, elite specializations, player-housing, etc, is likely not even under consideration. Perhaps the lack of interest in expansions is a financial risk thing, or perhaps it's because so many people complained about Heart of Thorns despite it being a superb addition to the game, and likewise complained about Path of Fire. Maybe they don't want to release expansions anymore because of people expressing negative views of it each time and it just didn't seem worth the investment.

Which still seems odd, because there will always be those people and those opinions, no matter how good the content actually is. Personally, I enjoyed Heart of Thorns far more than Path of Fire, aside from mounts, but would be content getting that kind of content in a living story episodic format if it meant that some of those features actually made it into the game. It feels like that won't be the case either though. I think we've just shifted permanently to living story releases for the rest of the game's life, and expecting features like elite specializations, trait system revamps/weapon unlocks, features like mounts and gliding, etc, are no longer going to be added to the game. Whether that was the plan all along or a result of the layoffs, restructuring, and lack of resources who knows but I think it would be best to just assume that this is the content we will see for the rest of the game's lifespan. All you can really do with that is hope that the cadence is swifter and more reliable, and that it keeps the game feeling fresh despite truly game-changing features are no longer being developed.

[dodgerrule.8739]

I think it would be a good idea

[mindcircus.1506]

But we already know the answers to these.

@"zealex.9410" said:Like for example, is an expansion in the works?Obviously not. Mike Z has said the company is not currently working on one. He said they are not "off the table" but has been clear a number of times that they are not.Are elite specs comming?Obviously not. Anet tipped their hand for this when they released the last update to thief and included assets from whatever may have been in the works for the skill icons.What will the cadence of the icebrood saga look like?Again Mike Z answered this as best as they are going to. He said they are not going to adhere to their old cadence and instead will release when it's ready.

We may not like it. We may have been happier under Mike O's game direction, but no amount of consumerist outrage is going to change these simple realities.

[Konrad Curze.5130]

@mindcircus.1506 said:But we already know the answers to these.

@"zealex.9410" said:Like for example, is an expansion in the works?Obviously not. Mike Z has said the company is not currently working on one. He said they are not "off the table" but has been clear a number of times that they are not.Are elite specs comming?Obviously not. Anet tipped their hand for this when they released the last update to thief and included assets from whatever may have been in the works for the skill icons.What will the cadence of the icebrood saga look like?Again Mike Z answered this as best as they are going to. He said they are not going to adhere to their old cadence and instead will release when it's ready.

We may not like it. We may have been happier under Mike O's game direction, but no amount of consumerist outrage is going to change these simple realities.

its depressing how right you are

so this game's future is a slow and painful fall into irrelevance and oblivion. LW isnt going to carry it on its own, no fucking way on earth

[Tinker.6924]

The problem with talking about upcoming projects and changes is that plans change all the time. Projects get cancelled. Planned Features and bug fixes get de-prioritized and postponed. And that can cause some player dissatisfaction.

[AlexxxDelta.1806]

@kharmin.7683 said:We already know that (seemingly) whenever ANet has told us something was coming, and if it missed the mark, then they got slammed for it. I don't fault them for no longer putting these things out there. The playerbase can be ruthless.

You know a pretty feasible solution to this, that many other studios employ, is to....not miss those marks! Or at least not make a habit of it, a couple of hiccups are excused even from the most ruthless communities.

@kharmin.7683 said:ESO is a different business model, no?

ESO is B2P, just like GW2 is for a big chunk of its playerbase. Core game going F2P halfway through doesn't mean much when most major features are in the xpacs.. And I don't see the point in the first place, as many pure f2p games are much more transparent with their development.

[TheGrimm.5624]

Short answer is yes. A high level directional note once a month of where each game mode is going would go a long ways. Detail and hype could wait till its time to release. For longer projects maybe a couple of bullet points on what makes it complex or noted milestones. Doesn't need to be by devs to keep that separation if needed and not to de-motivate devs either. But yes a more metered and controlled communication would be a positive interaction, at least to me.

[Knighthonor.4061]

@kharmin.7683 said:I prefer the developers to actually work on content rather than some sort of public log

I dont see why they can't have both. Blizzard in vanilla beta were more open as well, and WoW became the biggest MMO in western history.

[kratan.4619]

Nope, I do not need any information on what is being planned/worked on. It simply does not affect my enjoyment or my reasons for playing.

[Ashen.2907]

I dont need it, but it could be nice.

[Hashberry.4510]

They can't talk about what they don't know.The game is a device to reap sales from the gem store. Its a pretty good game given thats all its for. Any intent to be something more got shelved. Thats no fun to look forward to, but thats where we are.

[Dami.5046]

I don't think this obsession with what other games do is overly healthy. I play the game more or less because I enjoy it (at times!), not because I get a step by step account of what the Devs do each day.Does the fact The Devs don't talk to us everyday stop me playing?Hell no.

[Edelweiss.4261]

@kharmin.7683 said:We already know that (seemingly) whenever ANet has told us something was coming, and if it missed the mark, then they got slammed for it. I don't fault them for no longer putting these things out there. The playerbase can be ruthless.

While this is certainly true to an extent, I don't think clamming up is the best course of action. Communication needs to also effectively manage expectations. If you say you are working on something with the disclaimer that it might get canned, communicating that the idea was canned and why needs to be done sooner than later. There are those who will complain no matter how well you manage expectations(and they will be loud about it), but these people(or others) will complain just the same from silence.

The claims of lies will sting more than the claims of silence and, I think, will feature more prominently in the minds of the developers. I think this is why silence is opted for over communication. Unfortunately, communication generates a lot of goodwill from more understanding fans while silence generates anxiety. Still, developer mental health is important, so silence may be better for more fragile people like myself.

[TheGrimm.5624]

@"kharmin.7683" said:We already know that (seemingly) whenever ANet has told us something was coming, and if it missed the mark, then they got slammed for it. I don't fault them for no longer putting these things out there. The playerbase can be ruthless.

:) I don't think anyone said the forums aren't full of "kittens" (there filter I will help you out) and people that tell the community they are full of piss and vinegar won't be called white knights, but that also doesn't indicate that Anet doesn't have room for improvement on the communication side of things. I agree with you, as soon as they say something the first place people go to is the soon meme which if I was them wouldn't motivate me either. But there needs to be better balance on information and frequency and that's why as a company they have layers between players and devs. Use them. There is no reason there isn't a high level monthly posting of what's in the works for each game mode even if its repeated content. Anet needs to deal with the forum trolls and the forum trolls need to realize that somethings take time. But just leaving a vaccum with responses only after uproars isn't good either.