I think it's time we start seeing some data in regards to the changes being made.

[Jandor]

Depends. Reddit and Twitter lean overwhelmingly positive while here things tend to be more critical. Listening to too much of one side would logically only do more harm than good.

The ideal game for the Twitter crowd is like something out of the April Fool's manga that actually got made and published, little more than a visual novel with comfort characters where not much happens.

The ideal game for some forum posters is difficult to define. Conversations here tend to focus more on gameplay though people's opinions on that ranges from reasonable things like "please give White Mage more fun attack spells" to "please tack dots back onto Summoner."

The middle ground is somewhere in between.

The ideal game for forum posters would have a story so unrelentingly bleak half the playerbase would top themselves before they can even start to put in the several years required to play even one job at an acceptable level

-----

In all seriousness, it would be interesting to know where they get there feedback from. It feels like most changes are the result of looking at numbers and deciding how to respond internally, with only the scantest attention paid to reddit, twitter and forum comments.

[Atelier-Bagur]

If we just take forum's opinions on making a game it'll be such an unorganized mess that nobody will want to play it. No game will cater to every single person.

[KageTokage]

There are some common sentiments being echoed on the forums, like the healer design being dull as heck, the botting issues going largely unaddressed, etc.

Yet for some reason they seem to just repeatedly gloss over certain things. It particularly doesn't look very good when it takes people directly bringing up a matter like the rampant RMT spam on party finder in an interview to get the devs to do anything about it when they should've been aware of it years ago if the associated teams were communicating with them properly.

[Valkyrie_Lenneth]

I believe that. I also think that's a far worse truth though.

Issues can largely be compiled into:

Story
Lore
Map Design
Gameplay
Equipment
Mounts
Skills & Abilities
Mechanics(How A interacts with C through B.)
Character Creation(Races, Hair, etc.)

I understand not being able to respond to everyone. What I don't understand is how a company can fail to address issues for multiple years with such a short list, if we were to use the above.
This tells me that either they're simply unware, ignorant of the issue, don't believe it to be an issue, or aren't paying enough people to understand what is actually going on and what the data they have means.

Instead I prefer to believe they simply don't collect it.

The only time they've responded in a timely fashion is when it could hurt their bottom line, I.E server congestion.
Either making this game from the rubble of 1.0 in 2-3 years has finally come knocking or they simply don't care as long as they're making money.

This is coming from the company that thought 1.0 was okay to be released, I don't really think I'm that far off the mark.



I personally would simply like to see the numbers to know if generally my thoughts on the game are wrong. This way I know if I want to stay subscribed to this game or move on in the future because I'll know which way the wind is blowing.

I disagree. They respond to many things. We've gotten explanations on a lot of changes over the years. People just seem to have selective memory.

[DrWho2010]

Dunno bout you but they do send out surveys (not very many tho I can count like 3 or 4 in the whole time since ARR) but it has happened.

[Jeeqbit]

I find myself increasingly curious about something. Who, exactly, is being asked for their opinions in regards to changes and additions to the game and what numbers are we looking at to justify them?

It's normal for a company to survey a random sample of people. Typically 1,000 is enough. These surveys have definitely been done by Square Enix because I received one.

Among the numbers they have collected is how many times the NPCs have squat and how many times people have said "yoshi-p" in the game. That should provide a sense of how meticulously they collect statistics.

We as players have our own data on fan websites. For example, the least used job in a lot of content seems to be Ninja.

[Kaurhz]

Personally, I don't care very much for the statistic of who and how many people requested what and so forth. It just adds to some nonsense that has been perpetuated in previous discussions; "We the majority, you the minority. Therefore, we win, get over it."

If anything I'd just like more valuable and meaningful Q/A where people can probe the developers the designers to try and better understand their thinking, logic, and method behind some of their decisions and philosophies.

[DrWho2010]

some of that information is a closely guarded secret. you don't want to give up the sauce you know.

[Knot_D]

I mean I requested the Frontier Ribbon for all gender months ago and soon they gonna release it.

They hear the request, but they need a time to make the decision about it...

[TaleraRistain]

I'd love to see the numbers as well, and I'd love them to go deeper into why they make the decisions they make but let's not kid ourselves here. Most of those who claim to "want to see the numbers" are really just trying to say that they believe the hidden, obfuscated numbers will support their own perspectives and causes.

This, exactly. You also have the problem that if you pull the numbers and it doesn't support their point, they think your numbers are wrong. I see this at work all the time. "Please pull X numbers on this for me" *pulls the numbers* "This isn't right. You didn't pull the right thing" No, what happened was instead of following the data and letting that guide their conclusion, they came in with pre-conceived notions and wanted data to back it up. And when the data doesn't back up what they think, then they cast doubt on it.

I'd love to see the numbers just for the insight into their processes but they wouldn't be able to keep players from casting judgment on what they gather or how they interpret it. They're better off not pulling back that particular curtain.