Future communication between devs and community

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1 month later …

it is now more than a month passed since i wrote this topic. In my opinion it’s now the time for a small recap about what has changed, what is good and where there is still need for optimization.

The New

The changes in the past month showed clearly that this game is not abandoned by the devs. I think this is a good sign for a lot of players and a clear message for all who thought the game was dead (especially in the steam review section).

In the past four weeks we saw a dramatically increased number of dev posts and devlog posts and i hope we will see a lot more in the next time. Also the amount of shared informations changed from “show what we have” more into the direction of “show what we want to accomplish with the game”. This is a good starting point for further discussions within the community and with the devs.

In my opinion it’s also a good sign that all devs are much more active in the forum now. We saw a lot of posts by “other” devs than “only” @james or @ben.

The Good

What are the good changes in the past:

  1. More Devlog Topics
  2. Content changed from “what we have” to “what we want to accomplish with the game”
  3. More dev activity in the forum
  4. Game-Concepts shared (eg. Guild beacons, beacon persistence to name only a few)
  5. More regular updates (thanks to the C++ port i think)

The Bad

It’s still pitty to see that only a few of the questions from the question appeal topic have been answered completely (after that long time). Also a lot of the answers are “vague” and not really clear (usually only after demand - if there is one).

  1. Only few questions from “Questions Appeal” were answered completely
  2. Vague answers about questions
  3. Often necessary to ask for details
  4. Difficult to understand / see how the player opinion affects your decisions

@james Last but not least some things are forgotten (maybe because you have a lot to do - but you said this on April 18 [20 days ago]) like:

Conclusion

The “new” communication strategy is going in the right direction and is a lot more what i’d expect from a EA game than the prior strategy. It’s also obvious that you care for your community and you want to deliver the best game possible.

i hope you will continue with the current strategy and don’t drop it again. Thanks that you took my concerns so seriously (@james, @olliepurkiss, @ben and all other in the team).

I’m looking forward on what is coming and i think you do a great job :thumbsup:

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WHY AM I AN ‘ONLY’ :sob:

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That just means you’re special and unique!

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Even if @Havok40k is joking I agree with this. There should be at least an official dev log with the trailer or something according to the event. It’s “unusual” to skip a weekly devlog without any info (yes I know there have been posts, but not in the devlog category … I’m tiered of always naming the obvious …). There have been a lot of delays in the last time too (yes, I know @james was ill).

Never the less the devlog time should be respected. In the meanwhile, Factorio had it’s #168 Friday fact in time … they can do it … why now Boundless ? (Because deadlines are “boundless” ? :slight_frown: )

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Your devlog came in the form of a fully realized trailer demo. Literally all info that could be gleaned from a typical devlog (except maybe who was responsible for working on each feature) can be gleaned from watching the demo. More so, in fact as you actually get to see it in action.

I’m beginning to wonder if you backed this game to have fun, or to fulfill some sort of delusion of authority? You aren’t owed a devlog, it is a courtesy that @james does on his spare time when not working on the game.

Other developers doing things a certain way does not determine what is a mandatory practice in the game dev industry.

If a devlog was released for this previous week, it would contain little to no useful information that we do not already know from the demo.

So relax, you don’t want to wear out the dev’s patience with our community, do you?

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That is wrong ! No, it’s not in the form of a trailer demo. I can’t see anything I can’t do in the current game (do you see something new ??? Expect some now items …)

Wrong too! Is there any info about the beacon persistence ? Is there any news about items ? Topics that pushed up in the last two day that had no answer within the last 9 months. Are there any info about the skill tree ? also no answer within the last couple of weeks / days…

All in all, there is a lot of information missing :frowning:

You are wright, other games doing things on other practice and this might be better (just comparing players and fund)

Why not push a devlog with this info ? This is just insane!!! devlog should be released FREQUENTLY … and not if the devs like to do!

I already gave up on this topic (sorry not sorry). At the moment there is few that catches my interest. And you all know I am active in this forum and I like to help out where ever I can!

EDIT:

Do I own something ? NO … Do i like to get informed like any other player / backer else ? YES.

This is something he should do in his work time … As said before … there are plenty of other games doing this right … and there is boundless (doing a lot of things wrong - mostly EA stuff) I have absolutely no problems to start a new discussion!

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You watching the latest video? I’ll assume as much. I don’t know how closely you watched, but I saw numerous new items and re-texured items such as:
Slingbow update, grapple hook update (clawed thing) essences, new warp conduit update, updated portals, new blocks, new monsters and multiple tiers, new attacks, new animations, new emotes, new chat features, new trade features, new navigation features, new totem features, the new sanctuary (which is part of the tutorial phase), new combat features and more. I’m being totally vague of course, but all of those things are currently not in the live build. As was mentioned before, we can expect to see all of these features in the live version soon.

Wrong too! Is there any info about the beacon persistence ? Is there any news about items ? Topics that pushed up in the last two day that had no answer within the last 9 months. Are there any info about the skill tree ? also no answer within the last couple of weeks / days…
All in all, there is a lot of information missing :frowning:

You would not get speculation or specifics like that in a devlog weekly update anyway, so that’s irrelevant. I also think you forget that the last few weeks / days have been preoccupied by traveling half way around the world to present the trailer, as already mentioned.

Why not push a devlog with this info ? This is just insane!!! devlog should be released FREQUENTLY … and not if the devs like to do!

Nah, you’re insane. And impatient. Who are you to make such outrageous demands? We got a huge content drop this week, but you’re losing it over a devlog not being on time. Madness!

I already gave up on this topic (sorry not sorry). At the moment there is few that catches my interest. And you all know I am active in this forum and I like to help out where ever I can!

Your edit disagrees.

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As is said before … expect new items. That is the only new thing you name. I can’t see anything new in the game (If I start the game there is everything in the old state).

That is something we hear a lot in the last moth … when is “soon” (any detail before “new year” is welcome).

Why exactly are details irrelevant if they were asked by the community ? they are highly relevant IMO!

More than 2 Weeks for a little trailer ? Can’t agree … are there only 2 devs ? … What are the other 13 doing ? (currently there are 15 devs on this board …)

Disagree. I like to get informed like most of the backers! I don’t outrage I just like to get “valid” news about the game I once backed … a lot have changed and a lot is new … what’s the current state in dev ? it can’t be insane to ask this question! Stop protect everything the devs do and start asking questions about the game !!!

What exactly is the “huge” content drop this week ? please enlighten me and tell me everything that is new. I backed this game in late 2014 and we already had beacons, crafting and “friendship” … the only thing we are missing is “progression” but sorry this is not worth mentioning at this time! We also lost some of the old features like the “minimap”!

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soon …

I can’t here this f*** word… this word I hear since over a years every few weeks again… I paid a lot of money for a game with active dev`s to support them. But I don’t see anything for the money. They killed the minimap and the grappling hook(no wire since round about 1 year), delete the hook shoot (don’t remember the correct name) and some other things. What is new ? Some Crafting machines, some professions (but only a ground version).

Sorry but this is much to less new content in this long time, I play this game since 22/23.12.2014 and I have over 400 hours on this game. 200 hour in the first 1-2 month. So don’t say I don’t know the game.

If it would be possible to take back my money I would make this actual, but unfortunately it does not work.
Why ? Because the game is not nearly that what the dev`s promised at the start. And sry after 2 years a expect a bit more content as this all. And no information only if we ask 2 or 3 weeks every day we a few information.

edit: What did you think why the community is so small ? I can say it to you because we get no content and no information. The forum here is nearly dead.

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unfortunately, I need to agree

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Well don’t expect me to hold you back.

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I wish you both could. It would give the development team WAY more time to focus on what actually matters (game development) instead of having to deal with your rediculous demands.

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Now there is harsh tone and directly hostile.

Try to keep the discussion civil.

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@GenocideAngel: Sorry did I missed something ? What’re your experiences with this game so far ? You are only writing every 6 months and you are naming other people’s opinions:

It’s definitely not up to you to judge my (/our) opinions about the dev state so far :smiley: Sorry I need to laugh :smiley:

Recap: A lot of the fanboys miss my point: Again, I don’t say everything is bad … again, I just say the communication is bad!

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I tend to be a lurker. It’s only when someone’s self-entitlement triggers me to the point of rage that I tend to call out stupidity when I see it.this is one of the most transparent dev teams I have ever had the privilege of backing, and it disgust me to see somebody give them so much ■■■■ when they are bending over backwards to meet the communities demands.

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How about new creatures, emotes, sound effects, and visual effects just to name a few. There’s a lot of effort that had to go in to all of these changes and for you to say it’s only new items is really doing a disservice to the dev team and your fellow forum goers

I just think you have unrealistic expectations for the amount of communication and updates that the dev team should be giving. They’re developing a game. It takes a ton of time an effort, especially when you’re building almost everything from the ground up. Every hour that someone spends writing on the forums is an hour taken away from game development. I can understand that you’re probably worried about the devs slipping up on the weekly devlogs, but let’s give them a chance to get back from PSX and get re-settled before we pull out our pitchforks.

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Since you took the liberty to dig through @GenocideAngel’s history (Lol! Sad!) I should point out that I find it hilarious that you feel the need to dismiss their retort based on forum activity. Even somebody who only occasionally posts here recognized that you complain too much :laughing:

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Mabey i am late to comment on this post am new to the forum. I have played this game since it came on steam and my hero was just a purple box (currently only have logged about 8 hrs in the game). I left it alone for a long time assumed it was “dead” from the lack of communication and updates. within about the last 4 months or so i feel i have seen it spring to life it regular descriptions on what is being worked on and what to expect. This activity is what got me interested in joining the forums and putting in ideas and reporting problems. As of today i am happy with the amount of communication i am getting from the development team. This is just one players perspective.

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Obviously, you did not saw a lot of EA dev teams in the past. Check out “Factorio”, “The Universim” or “Star Citizen”. Also, check out the first post in this topic (it should be interesting for you too).
Also, rememer that this was different in the past.

please cite an example. I didn’t saw any “bending over” in the past. Anytime the discussion gets “difficult” they just “disappear” like it happens a lot in the past (side note: I need to appreciate @luke-turbulenz and @james for their efforts anyway) . There are also no “final results” about a lot of open topics. This is just my opinion and please prove me wrong with examples and cites.

Creatures are not really new and have been promoted for a long time… eg. we saw the first “ground basher” art more than half a year ago (sorry I can’t find the original source, this is also an “old” one so the first appearance should be even older than half a year)

Emotes are also long promoted too and did not found their way into the game (at least some - most are already ingame). Noone can tell me there are other “complex dependencies” for a simple emote. The same belongs to “visual effects”.

My question here is “Why haven’t they published in the past ?”, “Why did it take over half a year for items / creatures / effects to come into the game ?”

Again not saying everything is bad … but why are other teams able to do so - even (better) if they all started from a comparable initial situation ?

Please read my post. I already wrote an answer to this particular question / point.

You are wright. We should let them their time but we (as a community) should be worth more than a lazy 2 liner. I only liked to mention my concerns and “people” misinterpreted them (as this always happens on the internet).

This is always only 1 click away (thanks @discord) … if I see a “new name” why should I not do this ? And in this example it shows that this particular person wrote only a few in the past … is there any problem mention this ? I see inactive players / users as a problem, yes.

I also saw that he is a “roommate” of you so I don’t see why this is adventitious.

@Northwind: I like your attitude and please read the start of this topic and the related topics. As you can clearly see this was not from the start. The community (espacially I) fought a lot for more updates and more communication.

Again … for all the fanboys out there (I’m a fanboy too BTW, otherwise I would be long gone) …

I’m NOT saying everything is bad. I’m not saying the devs do a bad job in general. I’m only like to point out that the communication is getting worse at the moment (like this happened before).

Gosh, I’m tired of this …

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YOU are tired of this?!? Jesus Christ. This isn’t Star Citizen, Factorio or the Universim. This is Boundless. This dev team MADE the engine that this game is run on. The big gap that started your ■■■■■ fit in the first place was the move to c++ that takes time. And if YOU are tired of your own bitching imagine the rest of the community and the dev team.

P.S. And I haven’t been Havok40k’s roommate for almost a year now.

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