We need better comunication with the Community team

[Alleo]

Honestly for me their biggest flaw is their lack in communications. Sometimes we will get an apology but often we have silence. Merchandise items suddenly being single character only without any information before that, the same with the price changes for some countries that only got a response later when people already raged on the forum.

I know that they cant constantly chat with us but when I look at some indie games on steam that are early access and see all the devs there talking with the people, answering questions and even talking about development it just shows even more how barebone the communication is in this game. Yes we have a language barrier but then they should get more english-japanese speeking people that will be in both forums.

I mean with Eureka even the Japanese forum had a lot of negative posts with huge amount of likes and yet we are still waiting at least for some answer from Yoshida or anyone from the team. Even if its just a "we want to collect more data", "we have read your opinions and we will talk about it later" or stuff like that it would have been better than silence.

Another point: How often is it said that the forum is only the minority of players yet we still dont even have any other way to give our opinions. If they dont want to write in the forum why not just give us an ingame survey after each patch with new content so that you will truly get the opinion of the playerbase? Sometime you are going a bit blind if you work on something for a long time and thus such surveys could give you some truly fresh ideas. Yes some or maybe even a lot of them might be impossible wished but they still could give ideas..and that seemingly is something that they need.

Edit: Why is this thread just turning into another I like/dislike Eureka for x reasons thread? For me the OP was using Eureka as an recent example for bad communication. Maybe we could discuss that and leave most of the Eureka stuff that has nothing to do with communication for all the other countless threads?

[Avenger]

Edit: Why is this thread just turning into another I like/dislike Eureka for x reasons thread? For me the OP was using Eureka as an recent example for bad communication. Maybe we could discuss that and leave most of the Eureka stuff that has nothing to do with communication for all the other countless threads?

I would definitely like more responses to forum threads, even from the community team acknowledging what people are saying and giving their own opinions one way or the other.

I'd also like responses like the one in the OP to include a bit more of what they are responding to. Like "Some of the feedback we got is that many lockbox rewards aren't very desirable or useful, such as way too many fireworks, or they result in duplicate items that you can't sell or desynth. We agree with this, so we're making many items sellable/desynthable, reducing the frequency of fireworks, and adding some new rewards. We also heard x/y/z, but after careful consideration we have decided not to change those things at this time, primarily because (reason), though we will continue to monitor how it plays out over the next month or so." That sort of phrasing might make it clearer that player concerns are being heard and at least considered.

It seems that communication is heavily vetted. While this seems somewhat sensible in terms of making fewer promises that they can't or won't keep, I would actually like to see a bit of a freer exchange of opinions and information. After all, the community team are players too and they should be allowed to express their thoughts and opinions, which might be interesting even if we don't necessarily agree with them or even if they aren't 100% accurate in terms of predicting exactly how the game development will progress.

It would also be exciting to have occasional Q&A with different developers regarding various aspects of the game. Imagine an AMA about Eureka for example.

[MistakeNot]

If they dont want to write in the forum why not just give us an ingame survey after each patch with new content so that you will truly get the opinion of the playerbase?

Possibly because they know that if you as 10 different players you will get 12 different opinions. If they just want to mine ideas there are plenty of them here on the forums - many of them unworkable for various reasons.

I do not think the developers lack ideas. That each new patch is mostly just more of the same is likely a deliberate decision - because they know that the current formula works, and are unwilling to alienate players by changing things around too much.

[Alleo]

Possibly because they know that if you as 10 different players you will get 12 different opinions. If they just want to mine ideas there are plenty of them here on the forums - many of them unworkable for various reasons.

I do not think the developers lack ideas. That each new patch is mostly just more of the same is likely a deliberate decision - because they know that the current formula works, and are unwilling to alienate players by changing things around too much.

But instead of just getting the ideas from the forum which would still be that way (10 people and 12 opinions) they might get thousands or even more opinions. They could simply ask: Did you like X? With a Yes/No/Indifferent answer and maybe a box if you want to know a reason. Just a simple Yes or No would give them more data than they ever get from the forum.

[Remedi]

That each new patch is mostly just more of the same is likely a deliberate decision - because they know that the current formula works, and are unwilling to alienate players by changing things around too much.

Considering how ppl are using the we lost 1 expert dungeon (lol) for eureka and ultimare of late I agree that changing the formula as much as ppl want is impossible

[Neophyte]

Do they not care about the replies of people like the one I pointed out here? I find it really really sad someone posted they are unsubing because Eureka takes too much time from their friends, they can't do anything else.

I dont know what SE should do about the fact that regarding this specific FC 90% of the ppl seem to want to do this content and 10% do not.

It's 100% on those so-called friends that they let their buddy down...
I got my lvl 20 and 3 relics while also doing Sigmascape with a returner friend, weekly raid clears and some Byakko kill groups. And capped my alt without Eureka, too.

Also it's just a week... and in other threads it's said, that Eurdka is dead soon anyway.. so why worry about this?

Also, when a fc decides to go ham in ultimate with hours of raiding each day and one guy doesnt want to... is it also SEs fault, that they wont have time for a stupid ex dungeon run?

[Vstarstruck]

Edit: Why is this thread just turning into another I like/dislike Eureka for x reasons thread? For me the OP was using Eureka as an recent example for bad communication. Maybe we could discuss that and leave most of the Eureka stuff that has nothing to do with communication for all the other countless threads?

ya, it was just an example, don't really wanna turn that as the main focus.

[Vstarstruck]

I wonder.. does SE do this on purpose:
https://youtu.be/WBLHEiWmy4k
like that?

I mean before we where talking about glam dresser, and everyone spoke about those problems. Then out of nowhere SE changes the MSQ, then people rant about those changes. Now with diadem 3.0 out, people stop talking about those issues and now just focus on diadem 3.0

What happened to glam dresser issues? what happened to addressing the MSQ situation? then with all of this we get a post on fireworks and loot boxes =/ What about the misplaced PvP mount for the top 100? that is also weird call

[Stormfur]

What happened to glam dresser issues? what happened to addressing the MSQ situation? then with all of this we get a post on fireworks and loot boxes =/ What about the misplaced PvP mount for the top 100? that is also weird call

I agree. It's common on forums to shift gears when something new comes out, but that doesn't mean the other things aren't important. I think we don't get a lot of interaction from the community team because:

1) They're busy. Their responsibilities are more than just moderating the forum. Remember they're the ones that read through contest entries and do certain streams and things. I don't say that to absolve them of communicating with us, I just think the real reason is that, plus #2 below:

2) They can't say much that isn't official and set-in-stone. Because if they do, people won't let them forget it. Let's say a forum admin accidentally lets slip that there's a big change being speculated and Eureka Anemos dropboxes will now have old PVP rewards in them (could you imagine?? lol). Even if it was just a thought and wasn't actually implemented, people would forget that part completely and believe wholeheartedly that it's coming, and THEY. WOULD. FREAK. OUT.

And then you'd have to put out a virtual forum fire that didn't even need to be started in the first place.So yeah, I can see why they wouldn't want to reveal things that still being planned or even things that are going to be implemented in the game because I bet even those can change at the last minute.

Now those things being said, that doesn't absolve them out of interacting with us. Like the PVP changes that happened in 4.25 are things that nobody was expecting. In the PVP forum we're starving for community interaction beyond the "keep the feedback coming and we'll keep telling the dev team" because, as much as we appreciate that, it feel like we're being heard, but no one's actually listening.

For example -- what's the consensus on bringing back chat in pvp? If it isn't coming back, what lead you to that decision? Will top 100 rewards be made available by other means in PVP? Will the beloved PVP seal rock coat ever see the light of day from any other mode? If the answer to either or both of these is "no", what lead you to make that decision?

PVP aside, there are plenty of other questions in the game that we've never gotten an answer to. What's the future of glamour plates and why is the system so cumbersome to use? Why don't fishers have a tackle box similar to the chocobo saddlebag? What on Hydaelyn's Mother Crystal happened to the grand plan that Eureka was supposed to be?

They probably don't want to feel like they need to pass every change they make through the playerbase filter (of which the forum is a fraction of a fraction) and get our blessing and permission before making changes. Because our opinions on everything are all over the map.

The answer, for the community team, I believe is somewhere in the middle. No, everything doesn't need to be passed by the players, but more information behind the decision does... Even if it doesn't sway the developers' opinions and content plans, at least it will tell us their reasoning. It would be nice if we could have some say in the direction the game takes -- after all, we are paying for it! Just like the suggestion of 99 tokens for a primal mount became an option, it's not that our community here doesn't have good feedback or concrete suggestions to give.

So they should be able to say, for instance... the main reason why we can't add tackle boxes is because of the sheer amount of memory needed to store the extra items. Or, the main reason why Eureka is such a grind-fest right now is because we are working on adapting the gameplay over time and this was just the first iteration of it. Or whatever the reason is.

[Vstarstruck]

I agree. It's common on forums to shift gears when something new comes out, but that doesn't mean the other things aren't important. I think we don't get a lot of interaction from the community team because:

1) They're busy. Their responsibilities are more than just moderating the forum. Remember they're the ones that read through contest entries and do certain streams and things. I don't say that to absolve them of communicating with us, I just think the real reason is that, plus #2 below:

2) They can't say much that isn't official and set-in-stone. Because if they do, people won't let them forget it. Let's say a forum admin accidentally lets slip that there's a big change being speculated and Eureka Anemos dropboxes will now have old PVP rewards in them (could you imagine?? lol). Even if it was just a thought and wasn't actually implemented, people would forget that part completely and believe wholeheartedly that it's coming, and THEY. WOULD. FREAK. OUT.

And then you'd have to put out a virtual forum fire that didn't even need to be started in the first place.So yeah, I can see why they wouldn't want to reveal things that still being planned or even things that are going to be implemented in the game because I bet even those can change at the last minute.

Now those things being said, that doesn't absolve them out of interacting with us. Like the PVP changes that happened in 4.25 are things that nobody was expecting. In the PVP forum we're starving for community interaction beyond the "keep the feedback coming and we'll keep telling the dev team" because, as much as we appreciate that, it feel like we're being heard, but no one's actually listening.

For example -- what's the consensus on bringing back chat in pvp? If it isn't coming back, what lead you to that decision? Will top 100 rewards be made available by other means in PVP? Will the beloved PVP seal rock coat ever see the light of day from any other mode? If the answer to either or both of these is "no", what lead you to make that decision?

PVP aside, there are plenty of other questions in the game that we've never gotten an answer to. What's the future of glamour plates and why is the system so cumbersome to use? Why don't fishers have a tackle box similar to the chocobo saddlebag? What on Hydaelyn's Mother Crystal happened to the grand plan that Eureka was supposed to be?

They probably don't want to feel like they need to pass every change they make through the playerbase filter (of which the forum is a fraction of a fraction) and get our blessing and permission before making changes. Because our opinions on everything are all over the map.

The answer, for the community team, I believe is somewhere in the middle. No, everything doesn't need to be passed by the players, but more information behind the decision does... Even if it doesn't sway the developers' opinions and content plans, at least it will tell us their reasoning. It would be nice if we could have some say in the direction the game takes -- after all, we are paying for it! Just like the suggestion of 99 tokens for a primal mount became an option, it's not that our community here doesn't have good feedback or concrete suggestions to give.

So they should be able to say, for instance... the main reason why we can't add tackle boxes is because of the sheer amount of memory needed to store the extra items. Or, the main reason why Eureka is such a grind-fest right now is because we are working on adapting the gameplay over time and this was just the first iteration of it. Or whatever the reason is.

Look at 2 though, the housing situation, people even put that in their sig comment and they STILL act like it doesn't exist:

Letter from the Producer LIVE Part IX Q&A Summary (10/30/2013)
Q: Will there be any maintenance fees or other costs for housing, besides the cost of the land and house?
A: In older MMOs, such as Ultima Online, there was a house maintenance fee you had to pay weekly, but in FFXIV: ARR we decided against this system. Similarly, these older MMOs also had a system where your house would break down if you didn’t log in after a while in order to have you continue your subscription, but this is a thing of the past and we won't have any system like that.

see sig comment

We still got no update in regards of this specific issue behind housing, and the situation of what was said and what may be done to address it and maybe drift to the point in allowing that to be true again?

For the busy comment, there is no excuse. SE makes tons of money, hire people.