Howdy, Stranger!
It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
Quick Links
Camelot Unchained - Loud Footfalls On Deaf Ears - MMORPG.com
SBFord
Former Associate EditorMember LegendaryPosts: 33,129
Camelot Unchained - Loud Footfalls On Deaf Ears - MMORPG.com
This week our own Tim Eisen takes a look at expectation and communication in the Camelot Unchained Universe.
Comments
Say what you mean. Mean what you say. No wordsmithing. When something has to change from what you previously said, be upfront and let it be known ASAP.
Couple that with a no questions refund policy like CSE has:
If you would like a refund, we will refund your donation through the digital means (PayPal, Stripe, etc.) of our choice. We will subtract any fees charged by the payment gateway (PayPal or Stripe) for the transaction and nothing more. This refund policy will remain in effect until the game has been made commercially available (such as Open Beta or sales via a third-party site such as Steam) or production is stopped on it, whichever comes first.
All time classic MY NEW FAVORITE POST! (Keep laying those bricks)
"I should point out that no other company has shipped out a beta on a disc before this." - Official Mortal Online Lead Community Moderator
Proudly wearing the Harbinger badge since Dec 23, 2017.
Coined the phrase "Role-Playing a Development Team" January 2018
"Oddly Slap is the main reason I stay in these forums." - Mystichaze April 9th 2018
“Microtransactions? In a single player role-playing game? Are you nuts?”
― CD PROJEKT RED
Once again, it's the players' fault if they are expecting the universe. This company is pretty up front with their updates and if one gave money then they get the updates.
If the players had no idea what actual development entailed then "they now know" and they can either deal with it or get a refund.
Godfred's Tomb Trailer: https://youtu.be/-nsXGddj_4w
Original Skyrim: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/109547
Serph toze kindly has started a walk-through. https://youtu.be/UIelCK-lldo
I thought this article was about it being released.
not released = no fucks given
(disclaimer: when I say released I mean I can buy it, download it and play it, so early access does qualify for me)
Please do not respond to me, even if I ask you a question, its rhetorical.
Please do not respond to me
Buying into Early access, Betas and Alphas was the stupidest thing Gamers started doing. That and accepting cash shops that sell ingame items or services.
"I don't want to pay 10€ a month to play a mmorpg! I gladly pay 200€ on rng boxes so i can get the magic cloak of silent farts though !"
BUT....my point is it makes more sense to play something then it does to not play something.
Please do not respond to me, even if I ask you a question, its rhetorical.
Please do not respond to me
The communication to the more hardcore followers via forums and streams has been exceptional. What is released to backers (and what works it's way to the public) is raw, untouched testing screens and footage that rarely is from a server combining all new game systems and even then is very much a work in progress. It can be very hard to judge the progress as one must collectively combine a broad spectrum of information to imagine what the Beta 1 candidate would actually look like.
This type of old school development, where the majority of the game mechanics are built in house, doesn't create the pretty screenshots you get from existing and already very powerful game engines. Those games (like Crowfall as an example) can post very pretty screen shots when there is still little to no persistent and functional game world.
For me, the only real concern is: will the game actually be released some day? CU does indeed look to be one of the most promising and likely released crowd funded projects ... all while not creating a cash shop and selling game items or actively asking for more money. This should be applauded.
Delays suck but they aren't building hype, asking for cash or creating gimmicky promotions until the game at least shows real game play through a real Beta stage. All they are really for asking is patience even if you ignore the game entirely for now.
You stay sassy!
Having been a professional in a communications art form (Human Resources) requiring minutely parsed phrasing, where every word is carefully chosen for a very specific reason, to communicate exactly what needs to be said, nothing more, nothing less, I appreciate how difficult it is to communicate well with a highly diverse base.
It's a lose/lose for developers, unless they happen to have a very gifted person like GGG's Chris Wilson out front. Say a little, say a lot. Doesn't matter. They will be excoriated, misquoted, misapprehended and maligned.
IMO Tim has VERY little interest in the game but it is his job to make stuff up and pamper the developer on behalf of mmorpg whilst mmorpg can claim they give people a free pass to discuss as they want.
I have NEVER once got the feeling the writers here are anything more than scapegoats,lackey's to do this site's borderline illegal activity on fair adverting.
To me this game has never looked or promised to be a HQ game,just a low budget sort of half assed game and imo with little to no direction or purpose.However the marketing began right away using the old DAOC to help promote this crowd funded game.IMO using another IP to promote yuour business is lame,a game should be able to stand on it's own tweo feet but yeah with no game just a sales pitch,i guess they have to start somewhere,so DAOC was the marketing pitch.
So really people should stop pretending,let these devs build their own games,if they don't have the ability to self fund their project,it is then not good enough.
In reality,no matter how some people like to fabricate the reality,Crowd funding is like someone walking up to you with a blank piece of paper and asking you to fund it.Then ask yourself if giving money to that blank piece of paper is a wise decision.
Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.
You stay sassy!
Seems like he's missing a space bar as well.
21 year MMO veteran
PvP Raid Leader
Lover of The Witcher & CD Projekt Red
Other than that, as a student of Art-Assets Optimization, I'm drooling at what he acknowledges that Camelot's new Bot Tests are proving is possible (on such a tiny Engine budget) and if that makes me "a Nerd who is to nerds what nerds are to normal people" ... then so be it b/c there's still enough of us out there to playtest this game throughout all its awkward phases until it reaches that point that even normies can understand what sets it apart
One of those rare times when I actually agree with you on something.
"True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde
"I need to finish" - Christian Wolff: The Accountant
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
Honestly Tim, I've totally not understood what point you were trying to make on both this and your last article.
Even read them twice but...nope.
"True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde
"I need to finish" - Christian Wolff: The Accountant
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
On the actual subject matter, yeh, communication from developers is tough. I actually work in development and run a team of programmers so a large part of my job is translating the near unintelligible language my devs use, into something that our clients, project managers and leaders can understand.
It is tricky to do. First, you have to dumb things down enough so that just the words themselves make sense. But, you can't go too dumb, or what you're saying loses meaning. Even then, the words can make sense but the underlying meaning is still lost, so I often find myself having to go further in my communication to really get the message across.
(As an aside, this same problem is something most politicians struggle with as well)
If you had the time, I'd love to see some sort of comparison of Crowfall and CU communications alongside player expectations. It feels that the majority of people have higher expectations and more faith in Crowfall as a project whereas I feel the opposite. As a developer and MMO fan, Crowfall feels like its going to be a temporary flash in the pan. I have faith the game will release, but the tech they're using and the features they're implementing all seem setup for short, shallow experiences that'll be fun for a month or two, then lose interest. CU, on the other hand, seems to be the only game in development that is actually focusing on being massively multiplayer. The tech and the features of the game seem designed to promote long term, engaging gameplay and progression.
But, my feelings don't seem to be reflected in the community. I wonder if this is because I'm from a development background so have a greater understanding, or if, being a developer, I simply don't view the world like a normal person and so I have completely misjudged the general market.
care to name some of those games ?