SE: Holding back information won't stop criticism, it will only delay it and is bad.

[Kuroka]

They also rarely update on those plans, host no official translation on liveletter (leaving the non-JP community to play cross-language Telephone with each other), and play coy with any information they do have.

Another prime example is the meme that are male viera. We asked straight and got told to wait and see, wait and see, wait and see.... In a way that was sugesting there will be males, yet, he just didnt wanna say "no".

I get that is a very japanese thing too but still, that was a prime example what companies do wrong... just be honest from the start. While ppl might be still upset and sad, you'd no were create that kind of backlash.

[Genz]

Didn't see this one. It's laughable. In one shot, they're basically saying :
- we suck at game design (they've built one of the easiest game to balance ever, but they still fear adjusting it)
- we suck at communication (we don't know how to explain the adjustements to balance)
- we don't like our players (they're unable to understand us)

[Barraind]

No. No they are not. This is a thing that consumers came up with to justify their behavior when they are complete and utter jerks to customer service reps or local management over silly things.
(8)

The customer (the nameless, faceless, target demographic who follows trends and influences spending habits) is always right (more or less, and even when they're so very, very wrong) in that its going to buy what it is going to buy and want what its going to want and while you can influence them, you cant stop them from deciding that they want pink to wear on a specific day of the week or that pogs are REALLY FLIPPING COOL FOR A FEW MONTHS AND NEED 4 DIFFERENT MAGAZINES RIGHT NOW OMG.


CUSTOMERS, on the other hand, are basically like this forum irl, only more Karen and more shouty, and with (somehow) even less moderation.

[Deceptus]

Another prime example is the meme that are male viera. We asked straight and got told to wait and see, wait and see, wait and see.... In a way that was sugesting there will be males, yet, he just didnt wanna say "no".

I get that is a very japanese thing too but still, that was a prime example what companies do wrong... just be honest from the start. While ppl might be still upset and sad, you'd no were create that kind of backlash.

100% agreed. Expectation management is absolutely a thing. If you let people's mind wander and come up with crazy scenarios, news flash, they do and they're not often good ones.

It's also known in PR circles as getting ahead of the problem.

[Gula]

No. No they are not. This is a thing that consumers came up with to justify their behavior when they are complete and utter jerks to customer service reps or local management over silly things.

The customer is always right... until they become harmful to the workers, their environment and a detriment to profits. And by golly would the forum community, if given charge, would be a detriment to profits in possibly the most hostile and harmful sweatshop work environment.

[Kaliesto]

Didn't see this one. It's laughable. In one shot, they're basically saying :
- we suck at game design (they've built one of the easiest game to balance ever, but they still fear adjusting it)
- we suck at communication (we don't know how to explain the adjustements to balance)
- we don't like our players (they're unable to understand us)

I agree wholeheartedly, there is a big issue I have with the Original 2.0 monsters is that every regular enemy had Mechanic issues where I feel it is pointless to even have mechanics because of how easily it can be dodged, there is basically no strategy to it. There is easy enemies where you can teach a player, but to have ALL monsters of 2.0 and beyond to simply have very slow telegraphs is very pointless to even give them special abilities.

If it were up to me I would completely change this behavior by having their mechanics automatically happen and have it the player directly with no escape from it or at least allow a very small window of time to dodge it, so it would force the player to think of what the next move should be. This kind of stuff will help players be a bit more comfortable with harder content at the least.

I really really hate it that such mechanics that are hard are regulated to "SOME" dungeon bosses, and Overworld Hunts (hunts that are actually hard, and not slowly telegraphed).

I feel at the time back when 2.0 was released that it actually worked because the game was new and people were learning how the game functioned, but the Monster battle system could use a bit of a evolution.

I want to point out to the staff that I'm not trying to de-passion you all, but just to point out there is glaring flaws that could a desperate re-work so the game doesn't seem like a cakewalk which really isn't fun because it doesn't feel rewarding if the whole game has to be like that.

[Gula]

Didn't see this one. It's laughable. In one shot, they're basically saying :
- we suck at game design (they've built one of the easiest game to balance ever, but they still fear adjusting it)
- we suck at communication (we don't know how to explain the adjustements to balance)
- we don't like our players (they're unable to understand us)

Now that you've written out the fantasy you've conjured in your head, explain why and how you think- with this in mind, how they are able to keep and maintain their game as well as constantly gain new players that remain subbed even when they don't have to be?

[MomomiMomi]

Now that you've written out the fantasy you've conjured in your head, explain why and how you think- with this in mind, how they are able to keep and maintain their game as well as constantly gain new players that remain subbed even when they don't have to be?

People are foolish and stay subbed even when they're not playing.
Others are slow and don't complete content very quickly, so they have a lot of things they haven't done.
We also have sunk cost fallacy; see: people are foolish.
A large part of the game stays afloat on nostalgia.
There are of course people who play just because it's FF; see: nostalgia.
New players come in through advertisement.
A lot of people keep playing just to play with their friends.

Not saying this accounts for all the people who come and stay subbed. But there are various reasons people will play this game or just stay subbed to it that have little to do with it being a good game.

This also isn't a bad game by any means. But their devs have been making some horrible decisions for the past few years. I'd like to think at least most people can acknowledge that.

[Stormfur]

I imagine it must be insanely difficult to not only balance all the varied feedback coming in, but do so with users from other countries/cultures/backgrounds/languages too, where something can absolutely get lost in translation.

A lot of things seem to have an unusual amount of attention thrown at them, and others not. For example, lots of Viera and Hrothgar players want the same helmets/hairstyles as everyone else. Totally understandable. If i were a dev, I'd make that more of a priority than "new Gold saucer jumping puzzle". Same with adding abilities to every. single. minion. for Lords of Verminion and the 10 people that play it while the whole PVP forum is crying out "SE.. pleeeeaseee notice us!"

[gman1311]

Now that you've written out the fantasy you've conjured in your head, explain why and how you think- with this in mind, how they are able to keep and maintain their game as well as constantly gain new players that remain subbed even when they don't have to be?

well for me it’s that I don’t have any other option for mmos I like. I don’t need to make alts and have all the classes on one character.
Endgame is pretty straight forward. The story is pretty good.

Other mmos I liked went down hill. Don’t get me wrong, the devs can do better.