As someone who spent most of her working life as a customer service manager, I’d say it’s more accurate to say “most people” in place of “there are people.” .
In general, happy customers rarely have anything to say. Meaning they are busy enjoying the product or service and/or the rest of their happy day… or sometimes busy handling a customer frustration somewhere else, about a different product or service. There is always going to be a disproportionate skew toward negative feedback.
My statement about balance and perspective was an attempt to describe how I personally choose to behave in these circumstances. For me that means that I try not to use the forums as just a complaint desk. I try not to make mountains out of molehills, or react to things without giving it thought. I also try not to over-correct into fan-girl.
Pharos-Ra was one of the first mythics to get introduced, most players initially missed him. He was widely considered the most valuable mythic to own, there wasn’t any Soulforge back then, so when Khetar week rolled around players were falling over themselves to pull him from event chests.
A huge number of opened event chests later there was a rising concern in the community that the number of Pharos-Ra found was suprisingly low. Zero, to be precise. The community started to gather data, another huge number of event chests later the number still remained zero. The official response was that it’s just bad luck, that drop rates were checked twice and found to be correct.
Now, Gems of War has a pretty open data interface, allowing various server data to get retrieved. Someone came up with the API call listing the drop chance of each troop, for each chest. Pharos-Ra was set at 0%. There was some hasty official statement that this data, despite exactly matching the known drop chances for all other troops, wasn’t really reflecting reality. There was a second official statement hidden deep in some analysis thread that players would receive a refund for event chests opened, provided they somehow learned they were owed a refund, opened a support ticket and asked for it. There was no attempt to automate this process, or even just make more than a few code geeks aware that refunds were due.
The API call that allowed players to check chest odds was disabled the same week, official explanation given that it just served to confuse players. There were further incidents later on where the community used statistical methods to prove that chest odds were set lower than advertised.
Keep in mind that Sirrian’s (and other ‘key’ developers’) financial fortunes are directly tied to the game’s performance; they’re not just salaried employees, they’re getting paid, in part, depending on much profit they rake in.
It’s not as simple ‘evil mega corp vs small passionate developer’
I am pretty critical about areas of the game that are atrociously bad, like class talent trees, underpowered class weapons, underpowered troops, bad new troops (like today’s), treasure hunt still existing in its form, my god the list just keeps going.
But I will tell you that I have literally logged into this game EVERY DAY for the past 3+ years and I’ve spent an average of $25 a month on it since I started playing.
So yes, I will absolutely be critical about it, because I LOVE this game and I want it to be better, so I offer my critique in the form of: this is what needs to improve from an end-game player who spends money.
I have to correct you on this point. The API call was disabled much later. It was right on the heels of a different drop error, but the Pharos situation was in 2018 and the API call was killed in 2019, after they were called out (for the n’th time, correctly) for drop tables being incorrect by it, here: (Fixed) Common and rare troops not dropping from event chests
Sentiment is similar though… they had drop errors (more than once), they were getting noticed and then double checked against the Tarans data and being called out, then right after it happened again, suddenly they make it so this data can’t be accessed anymore. I always try to give the benefit of the doubt, but I really can’t see any other way to read this situation.
For your information, this game would be shut down if the people who complained didn’t spend the money they do. They complain because they value their money and feel as though the ignorant dev team takes them for granted.
Also they work on a 100% digital product. They could do it with a laptop in a tent under a bridge socially distanced. Don’t bother with the Covid. To be perfectly honest one dev has laughed publicly about covid “because it hadn’t hit Australia yet,” they then had another dev defend them because that is “just Australian humor.” A very moral and ethical thing to say.
Stop defending them. They are bad at their job, make excuses for being bad and could care less about any of us as long as the bank account is in the black. Period…
We like to play the game and want the devs to appreciate that us paying customers keep them in a job.
What I don’t need is some random person telling me I can’t speak my mind and expect more for the $2000+ USD I have spent on it.
You opened the can of worms. You call people out then don’t want people to respond?
One more thing why does a studio with pq/pq2 which grossed over 200 million USD. gow which grossed over 20 have to sell out to their publisher for 5 mil?
That is absolutely insane. Mind you pq3 is right around the corner.
I’ll tell you. A poorly run company. 505 had to bail them out to protect their investment.
Just avoid calling people stupid and you are good. Also remember that people in 2021 is more hair sore than in the 1950s, so they will flag you whenever they get the tiny chance.
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