Shan goes on holidays and the place goes to doo doo. I think they underestimate and undervalue all the hard work and fires Shan deals with on a day to day basis. I’d be worried and give Shan a raise if I was at DB she’s literally the glue holding this wet paper together.
Yet when Shan IS here, she gets the same hate and blame for everything, as if she has anything to do with the development of the game. She, also, gets the same hate when she isn't given answers from the devs themselves on issues, but rather told to just stay quiet. How quickly people forget. Jazzriker is just this week's scapegoat. It'll be Shan again when she gets back.
If you want real answers, you should be pinging Erin or AdmiralPrince, or whatever her name is.
Shan goes on holidays and the place goes to doo doo. I think they underestimate and undervalue all the hard work and fires Shan deals with on a day to day basis. I’d be worried and give Shan a raise if I was at DB she’s literally the glue holding this wet paper together.
Yet when Shan IS here, she gets the same hate and blame for everything, as if she has anything to do with the development of the game. She, also, gets the same hate when she isn't given answers from the devs themselves on issues, but rather told to just stay quiet. How quickly people forget. Jazzriker is just this week's scapegoat. It'll be Shan again when she gets back.
If you want real answers, you should be pinging Erin or AdmiralPrince, or whatever her name is.
Good points for sure, but shouldn't real answers come from tickets? though based on the answers they have given in tickets so far maybe not lol. The tickets just receive standard customer service run around cookie response answers. Cut and paste rinse and repeat.
Well, I get the sense that Shan also acts as the players' advocate to the devs. Not merely reporting issues, but perhaps also gently pushing for the resolution that would be most appreciated by the community. Not that she advertises that aspect of her role, and probably would not be able to.
But when it's not there, you can notice its absence. At least, I do. So perhaps we can all appreciate Shan a little more when she gets back.
I have a lot of empathy for Shan. I volunteer in a similar role for a small tabletop gaming property (BattleTech), and you get it from both sides, all the time. The community proxies you as the devs and posts accordingly, while the devs sometimes (or often) forget to loop you in on decisions that are bound to create bad PR.
I try to separate her efforts from the company's decisions.
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Bets thing to do is look upon it as a 'badge of honor'. You can always submit a complaint to DB directly outlining all of your grouches, get it off your chest and hope that they will listen (and they should do if they value their customer base). It may be that a direct complaint will go further than a complaint on the forums.
I did just this in my tickets. I didn't ask for compensation, which confused the CS agent at first, I did detail exactly why I was so miffed and exactly why I aren't going to spend any more money on event packs anymore.
Well, I get the sense that Shan also acts as the players' advocate to the devs. Not merely reporting issues, but perhaps also gently pushing for the resolution that would be most appreciated by the community. Not that she advertises that aspect of her role, and probably would not be able to.
But when it's not there, you can notice its absence. At least, I do. So perhaps we can all appreciate Shan a little more when she gets back.
This is also how I interpret her role.
I've worked in customer service and we were often constrained by company rules. My manager had final say in what I could or could not offer a customer, while I would also be expected to predict what the customer was expecting and how to resolve the issue with minimum damage to the company itself (in terms of profits and reputation)
In 99% of complaints it wasn't myself who was responsible for the issue complained about, and although I could suggest a resolution it was absolutely not my decision what compensation was offered. In most cases though, the customer felt I was the person making all the decisions behind the scenes and present them was a solution they didn't like, almost as if I had a personal vendetta against them. Guess who they yelled at, threatened with legal action and in some cases, threw stuff (okay, it was paper, and rather more funny than dangerous.
I don't have an issue really with what has or has not happened on the forums while Shan been away, I've covered for staff during absence and its always a bit of a rollercoaster really. I do think JazzRiker has shorter strings, and doesn't navigate the player base as well, but that's to be expected during cover imo. I also believe while he can be a tad more blunt than Shan its ultimately DB that aren't listening and valuing their players, not the forum admins.
I like Shan, I've missed her the last couple of weeks, and while i hope shes had a loverly holiday i'm looking forward to her coming back.
Good points for sure, but shouldn't real answers come from tickets? though based on the answers they have given in tickets so far maybe not lol. The tickets just receive standard customer service run around cookie response answers. Cut and paste rinse and repeat.
CS just does their best to resolve a specific issue, and close the ticket out. they have little foresight into gameplay design, or what really is coming. Most of the CS staff isn't even based out of DB HQ, let alone the same continent ... or hemisphere.
the big issues that people want real answers from DB on (Yar, AND slots, skirmishes, fighting macros, communications issues, etc) are going to come from someone who actually works in the Framingham offices. That someone would be Erin/Admiral Prince.
At least, before they fired 30 people, Nod/Alex would skim the forums here, answer questions, provide a tiny bit of insight and acknowledge people are frustrated with certain mechanics, etc.
Kixeye used to close a lot of forum threads too. Guess DB is going down the kix path.
Kixeye...a.k.a. Glitcheye. They were horrible! Haven’t heard that name in a long time. They cracked down on almost any thread pointing out flaws. lol
And, regardless of who does what, and where someone is in the food chain, I think everyone can agree that better transparency would help alleviate issues.
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A community forum surrounding a freemium game offers benefits to both the developer and the player, if it is allowed to function properly:
- It allows a community to grow, encouraging more business for the game. Ie a positive for the developer.
- It allows for dialogue between the player and the developer for feedback and concerns.
The problem I feel we have is that if you take away ‘starfleet communications’ and the occasional (but selective) rapid responses to some issues raised in engineering, there is practically nothing of meaning coming from DB to directly address issues and suggestions from the players. Some examples;
1- The developer Q and A is nothing but a publicity exercise so that DB can say they have the best community engagement. They don’t, most of the answers for frequently requested features or changes are simply some form of NO. At best, the things they say yes to are reworded questions with a completely different tone and meaning opposed to what the players are actually asking for.
2- The transmissions we receive through starfleet communications should really just be made in game, but by funnelling it through a forum it makes it appear to onlookers and investors that they go the extra mile. They do not, there’s little to no response to comments about events, game mechanics, bug or issues that they post in that forum category.
3- Bugs and issues posted in the forum (and in support tickets) frequently get ignored for long periods of time or indefinitely. eg ANDgate, event reward structures and when they are called up on broken commitments (such as updating the crew available from packs more often or dealing with starbase fleet goals). At best you’ll get an angry senior staff member commenting about how we should feel sorry for them for having to unpick poorly designed code. I’m so bored of seeing people apologise for the players (CUSTOMERS) being wrong again somehow. We’re always in the wrong.
The people that repeatedly and vocally hold DB to task here are very important, because they prevent the forums from becoming just a marketing tool to attract new investors. It can be that, but not if DB don’t offer customers a tangible benefit in return.
TLDR: DB need to work with us, rather than attempt to whitewash, ignore and continue to make everything the players fault.
I have a lot of empathy for Shan. I volunteer in a similar role for a small tabletop gaming property (BattleTech), and you get it from both sides, all the time. The community proxies you as the devs and posts accordingly, while the devs sometimes (or often) forget to loop you in on decisions that are bound to create bad PR.
I try to separate her efforts from the company's decisions.
It is interesting that threads are closed because of our assumptions. But many of those assumptions/comments are due to lack of response from DB in the first place.
Also most of us reading forums know many threads are running on assumptions but not all are closed.
Moderators have to read them anyway, why no just respond to the question and close them?
* polywater gate
* shuttle AND question
It is interesting that threads are closed because of our assumptions. But many of those assumptions/comments are due to lack of response from DB in the first place.
Also most of us reading forums know many threads are running on assumptions but not all are closed.
Moderators have to read them anyway, why no just respond to the question and close them?
* polywater gate
* shuttle AND question
Interesting point. And you’re right. We wouldn’t have to assume if we were just given an answer.
Comments
Yet when Shan IS here, she gets the same hate and blame for everything, as if she has anything to do with the development of the game. She, also, gets the same hate when she isn't given answers from the devs themselves on issues, but rather told to just stay quiet. How quickly people forget. Jazzriker is just this week's scapegoat. It'll be Shan again when she gets back.
If you want real answers, you should be pinging Erin or AdmiralPrince, or whatever her name is.
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Good points for sure, but shouldn't real answers come from tickets? though based on the answers they have given in tickets so far maybe not lol. The tickets just receive standard customer service run around cookie response answers. Cut and paste rinse and repeat.
But when it's not there, you can notice its absence. At least, I do. So perhaps we can all appreciate Shan a little more when she gets back.
I try to separate her efforts from the company's decisions.
Lvl 99, VIP 14, 939 Immortalized, 212 5* FE/FF
Check out our website to find out more:
https://wiki.tenforwardloungers.com/
I did just this in my tickets. I didn't ask for compensation, which confused the CS agent at first, I did detail exactly why I was so miffed and exactly why I aren't going to spend any more money on event packs anymore.
This is also how I interpret her role.
I've worked in customer service and we were often constrained by company rules. My manager had final say in what I could or could not offer a customer, while I would also be expected to predict what the customer was expecting and how to resolve the issue with minimum damage to the company itself (in terms of profits and reputation)
In 99% of complaints it wasn't myself who was responsible for the issue complained about, and although I could suggest a resolution it was absolutely not my decision what compensation was offered. In most cases though, the customer felt I was the person making all the decisions behind the scenes and present them was a solution they didn't like, almost as if I had a personal vendetta against them. Guess who they yelled at, threatened with legal action and in some cases, threw stuff (okay, it was paper, and rather more funny than dangerous.
I don't have an issue really with what has or has not happened on the forums while Shan been away, I've covered for staff during absence and its always a bit of a rollercoaster really. I do think JazzRiker has shorter strings, and doesn't navigate the player base as well, but that's to be expected during cover imo. I also believe while he can be a tad more blunt than Shan its ultimately DB that aren't listening and valuing their players, not the forum admins.
I like Shan, I've missed her the last couple of weeks, and while i hope shes had a loverly holiday i'm looking forward to her coming back.
Check out our website to find out more:
https://wiki.tenforwardloungers.com/
CS just does their best to resolve a specific issue, and close the ticket out. they have little foresight into gameplay design, or what really is coming. Most of the CS staff isn't even based out of DB HQ, let alone the same continent ... or hemisphere.
the big issues that people want real answers from DB on (Yar, AND slots, skirmishes, fighting macros, communications issues, etc) are going to come from someone who actually works in the Framingham offices. That someone would be Erin/Admiral Prince.
At least, before they fired 30 people, Nod/Alex would skim the forums here, answer questions, provide a tiny bit of insight and acknowledge people are frustrated with certain mechanics, etc.
Second Star to the Right - Join Today!
Kixeye...a.k.a. Glitcheye. They were horrible! Haven’t heard that name in a long time. They cracked down on almost any thread pointing out flaws. lol
And, regardless of who does what, and where someone is in the food chain, I think everyone can agree that better transparency would help alleviate issues.
- It allows a community to grow, encouraging more business for the game. Ie a positive for the developer.
- It allows for dialogue between the player and the developer for feedback and concerns.
The problem I feel we have is that if you take away ‘starfleet communications’ and the occasional (but selective) rapid responses to some issues raised in engineering, there is practically nothing of meaning coming from DB to directly address issues and suggestions from the players. Some examples;
1- The developer Q and A is nothing but a publicity exercise so that DB can say they have the best community engagement. They don’t, most of the answers for frequently requested features or changes are simply some form of NO. At best, the things they say yes to are reworded questions with a completely different tone and meaning opposed to what the players are actually asking for.
2- The transmissions we receive through starfleet communications should really just be made in game, but by funnelling it through a forum it makes it appear to onlookers and investors that they go the extra mile. They do not, there’s little to no response to comments about events, game mechanics, bug or issues that they post in that forum category.
3- Bugs and issues posted in the forum (and in support tickets) frequently get ignored for long periods of time or indefinitely. eg ANDgate, event reward structures and when they are called up on broken commitments (such as updating the crew available from packs more often or dealing with starbase fleet goals). At best you’ll get an angry senior staff member commenting about how we should feel sorry for them for having to unpick poorly designed code. I’m so bored of seeing people apologise for the players (CUSTOMERS) being wrong again somehow. We’re always in the wrong.
The people that repeatedly and vocally hold DB to task here are very important, because they prevent the forums from becoming just a marketing tool to attract new investors. It can be that, but not if DB don’t offer customers a tangible benefit in return.
TLDR: DB need to work with us, rather than attempt to whitewash, ignore and continue to make everything the players fault.
Check out our website to find out more:
https://wiki.tenforwardloungers.com/
Ha! Or how about Dr. Evil telling Scottie to “zip it”
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.org
Ha! Classic scene!
Also most of us reading forums know many threads are running on assumptions but not all are closed.
Moderators have to read them anyway, why no just respond to the question and close them?
* polywater gate
* shuttle AND question
Interesting point. And you’re right. We wouldn’t have to assume if we were just given an answer.