Please do not confuse PR with transparency.
Semantics. I could not even spell PR. I have done my best to be straight and to the point, to a fault at times. And I encourage the same in my staff.
There was 2000 posts long topic on this forum asking a simple question : Will we able to use companions in singleplayer custom games.
It took over 2 weeks and 2000 posts to get one simple sentence answer.
I'm glad you brought this up as I almost included this exact point from your earlier post in my previous response. The number of posts doesn't determine the time required to make a decision or answer a question. What matters is that we heard the request and made it happen before the first head start. Had we answered originally, it would have been NO. Again, that's a no win situation. We encourage feedback and have already established a pattern of being very responsive to it. That will continue and we intend to support this game for as long as the community will. I've said over and over again that we are just getting started. If you want a voice in this you have to accept that it is a process. I will not promise immediate answers, regardless of the volume of commentary. If it is important enough to do, it is worth thinking through, doing right and answering correctly.
How about being transparent about modifications to D&D rule system. Im not saying its bad or that it should not be done. But it was never mentioned - we are talking here about the game for one of most hardcore nerd community. Didnt you think they would kind of be interested to hear about that ?
We've said from the beginning that it was based on 5e rules and even commended WotC for their willingness to be flexible with the same to in order to deliver the best experience. We have been playing the game live for months now. How can that possibly result in criticism that we are hiding the rules?
Even now - do we know how long is official campaign ? 99% of RPGs disclose this fact before release.
This makes me laugh. We have been on record for several months that the story campaign is 30-50 hours, depending on your play style, perhaps a bit longer for some. I repeat that answer several times in each twitch session, where i answer questions directly.
In fact most of game is still black box. And for no reason at all.
This is pretty ridiculous, frankly. You have mentioned two areas that you felt were hidden. Answers to both are widely available. Maybe I'm missing something, but the information you seek is out there. n-Space could probably do a better job of making it easier to find, but honestly I answer the same questions over and over and over again, no matter how easy it is to find the answer, some people prefer to have it handed to them.
Hence the transparency will go long way. Explaining exactly what is your vision for the game and how you are going to achieve it with clear road map , skill/class previews ... etc
Yes, and that is why I promised to deliver a road map. Long before this thread started. I am glad you agree.
This is one of biggest mistakes developer can make. Dont you read Gamasutra or related developer blogs ? How many games failed due to fan disservice. You have to realize that some forum "fanboys" will defend the game no mater what. Its like cheering for home team. Than when the game is released developers get flabbergasted about bad reception game is getting. "Fans on our forums told us the game is perfect!"
Gamasutra? No, I've never heard of it. Come on man. We know better than to fall for the positive or get wrapped up in the negative. It works both ways. Throughout the development of SCL we have solicited the opinions of our internal team, our external partners, friends and family, extended friends and family, the community and unbiased external consultants, even going so far as to pay for mock reviews, etc. I've released over 40 games. Some very good, some very bad. I've seen it all.
Thanks. This helpful info
Basically - There will be no changes to game prior to release , except network bug fixes.
Uh, no, that's not what I said, nor a reasonable conclusion to draw. What I did say is that the additional time is being used for bug fixing, polishing and tuning. If you look back at the published release notes for HS2 you will see a large number of improvements, many based on community feedback, that were implemented in only a week. For HS3 we essentially re-released HS2 with network fixes. Even then that sells the changes short as we implemented a number of UI changes to better inform players of network conditions, help them choose games, identify dungeon masters, etc. We chose to make HS3 so similar to HS2 because we wanted to keep the majority of the team focused on the longer term goal. Prepping a build involves a lot of work - merging changes, testing, etc. etc. It is a major time sink that detracts from the larger goal. Everyone can expect the release notes for HS4 to be much more comprehensive.
If you are one of the few accusing n-Space of lying or intentionally misleading, please feel free to message me directly. I will happily and personally see that you are refunded your full purchase amount. You see, my personal integrity and that of the company that I built over the last 20+ years means a lot more to me than the price of your purchase.
Lying is harsh word. I am 100% sure you are outstanding chap that loves this game with passion.
But its business - You are responsible for the game selling and for people getting their salary on the end of the day. So you are worried about reactions - and thats understandable.
Yes, lying is a very harsh word. Likewise are calls against the integrity of n-Space or the people that work here. It is not in my nature to take those lightly. Recall my previous comment about PR. I am not "worried" about reactions. I am confident that the product we have made meets or exceeds what we set out to do and that we will continue to build on that success, growing SCL as a platform to build, share and play D&D adventures for years to come.
This is not personal. In fact based on what i seen so far , i think there is team at N-Space of highly professional and talented people that love D&D and is trying to make the best game possible in extremely short time And this is the core of the problem : Expectations vs What you can actually possibly deliver.
And that is why i say : Manage the Expectations better
I can only put information out there. People cast into that what they want to see. The formation of expectations is a two way street. Even in this thread there are folks bemoaning that SCL is not at all what they expected and others that are entirely satisfied. As I've said before, I'm sure we could do better and we strive for continual improvement.
