Heinrich Jagerblitzen wrote:Galm Fae wrote:They should be getting better, not playing triage month after month.
To be fair, the major "triage" that they are currently undergoing is the first and only opportunity that the new Executive Producer has had to have an effect on not just the direction the game is going, but the way its getting built as well. This isn't part of a pattern, its why he was brought in. He wasn't brought in to make small changes or to fix small problems, he was brought in to make big changes to fix ENORMOUS problems.
And yes, they may need to pause and examine their development processes before things get into a groove again, but frankly I don't believe the game will survive much longer if they don't. We've all seen the slipping player numbers, we all can project the trajectory CCP's been on in terms of how fast they can crank out content, and I think we can do the math. This is why I believe the process CCP is undergoing right now is completely justifiable, necessary, and a huge relief compared to the more surface level changes we've seen to their development process over the last few months of "rapid iteration".
Regardless of what happens over the next couple of months in terms of output, CCP is serious about doing what it takes to make Dust a success in the long run, and I can say that now with a confidence that I couldn't have had a couple months ago.
I've been playing DUST 514 since June 2013 and it's only gotten so much more difficult and complex. I can't even imagine what it must be like for totally new players. I've recommended the game to a few guys who tried it out and quit because they said their shots at opponents had absolutely no effect on them and they couldn't get any kills (etc. etc.). They just don't understand the game and they can get into Battlefield or COD far quicker. The learning curve in DUST 514 is pretty steep and getting steeper. I once joined a corp with about 350 members, but was subsequently informed that about 335 of them had quit the game because of the usual thing, nerfs of their weapons, etc.
There's a lot of video-game competition for DUST 514 out there and more coming all the time. I absolutely love this game and the community on this forum. I can't get enough of it, well, the game anyway. I can't help but think that the most important thing for CCP to work on is to help new players work their way into the game, perhaps with a PVE sort of like Borderlands 1 and 2 or RAGE (xbox 360), something adapted to the EVE universe - not as post-apocalyptic as that. Halo and Destiny spring to mind as well.
And CCP clearly has to fix Scotty's match-making without making the game so much harder for the veterans. My gear is getting better, but the game is also getting harder. How does that work?!? I understand the purpose behind it, but it feels like a con. It's no wonder people are quitting the game. Half the time they rage-quit because they feel cheated, and the other half because they can't be bothered to spec into a new weapon because theirs has been nerffed all to hell. Every nerf should be accompanied by a respec. Why do tankers get them but not the rest of us? That ain't right!
Besides these points, I think they absolutely must address the next gen console issue; I think that they have to upgrade and migrate the whole platform to PS4, which has sold 4.2 million units to date, and let us transfer our accounts (for 10 euros perhaps? That's the going rate in other videogames). A few months ago CCP said that the PS3 had 80 million units sold so that they weren't at the time considering developing for the PS4. I hope they reconsider in time. It won't be easy to get them to come back once they lose them.