Dev team should take a hard look at the state of the board

30

Instead of being a community forum where players can share build ideas, strategies, form new cabals, and generally just enjoy what really could be a GREAT game, it is becoming steadily more toxic. Why? Is it because we are a bunch of "entitled" whiners, as some people seem to suggest? I don't think so. Take a quick glance at the boards and you'll notice a pattern. Dozens of game-breaking bug reports that have been known since launch, plus the addition of paid DLC (Charybdis Outpost) that no one can actually play. And what has been the response from the devs? "We fixed it on our end, so just keep waiting." 

So take a look at the boards and then tell me whether you think the devs have responded appropriately. 

This post was modified 5 years 141 days ago by Megapull
30 comments
5 years 149 days ago
+5
Brother Kundari
That's nice, but the difference is I'm not asking for performance tweaks, or additional content, or making suggestions for future updates. What I'm asking for, and what honestly should have been delivered at launch, is a game we can actually play. 


The road map is fine, but none of it matters. The game is literally unplayable right now. I'm not exaggerating for effect or saying that euphemistically, we cannot progress AT ALL. Which means we can't access the DLC we've already gotten (Charybdis Outpost), which means we probably won't be able to access any future DLC or Season content until the bugs are fixed. 


To be honest, I don't care what the road map lists, or what nifty stuff the devs may be working on. Because the simple fact is: we can't play the content we already have, so giving us more is pointless. So like I've said before, if you're happy with paying full price for a beta demo, that's fine. I'm not. And unless/until the devs actually produce a game we can play I'm not going to give them any "elbow room." 


Or let me put it another way, November will be 90 days from console launch. That's 3 months we've had a game that's so fundamentally broken we can't even progress the main story. So either the November update is going to patch ALL known issues and we'll finally have the game we paid for, or Neocore is going to be handing out a lot of full refunds.
5 years 148 days ago
+5
Posted by Brother Kundari 5 years 148 days ago
Well, when I was writing my post I also referred to Bugs fixes and stuff too. Not only to what is on the Roadmap. But don´t foirget that all this is being worked on.

And sometimes easy things is turning into bigger difficulty unseen ones. They are a Team and they are working on everything at the same time. And if they are going to hire more people that can work on specific things they need to hire more staff, which again costs money.


And no matter what. It doesn´t help to nag at them that bugs needs fixes. All platforms needs it. We are aware of it, they are aware of it. One day it will come update. This game is far from over.

This game as it stands now should've never launched until the major bugs were squashed. Consoles waited months for "polish" and what we got seems more like a beta copy. My cabal and I have quit the game. Will check back in the spring to see if it is actually working. This game has so much potential, I would love to see it finally done and expanded. Unfortunately, I think the game will be dropped because of low numbers.


Defending this hot mess would typically get you flash fried on near any other game forum, but it's so Dead around here that it didn't happen.

5 years 145 days ago
+5

Since Marco and the devs seem not to understand how this is meant to work, I thought I'd share an example of community management done right. This is copied from a recent interview with the AC: Odyssey team. 

Ubisoft says it’s working on a fix and hopes to reinstate the Mercenary Events “later this month.” In the meantime, it writes, “we will activate 1x Epic Ship Event each week moving forward. And as a thank you for your patience and understanding, we will be activating a discount of -80 Orichalcum for the Legendary item that Sargon (Oikos of the Olympians) will sell next week.”

So you see? It's not a difficult thing. Granted, the issue with Odyssey right now is that a global event isn't populating properly, not a series of massive game-breaking crashes. But they are handling it professionally and expediently, and are offering some repayment to their community. 

5 years 144 days ago
+5

Here's our new "Road Map",

- Turn game on. Crash.

- Next Patch. Crash.

- Crash some crash crash...Crash.

- Nov. whenever...Crash. And still no new Patch/Season.........Crash.

- Winter plan/ still crash...and now we officially have ur money. Crash.

5 years 148 days ago
+4
Graypaws
That's precisely my worry. I'm literally the only person in my cabal now, and active numbers in other cabals are dwindling so there's no real point in switching. I and everyone I've talked to really like the game itself, it's a WH40K geek's dream after all. But the fact that it's impossible to actually play in any meaningful way has kinda killed it. And the longer they take to fix it, the more people leave. And once player counts drop below a certain level, servers get shut down. And since we can't play offline (for some idiotic reason), that'll be the end of the game. Period. 
5 years 145 days ago
+4
Hmmm... it's November and I don't know about anyone else but I haven't heard even a peep about this amazing November patch... did Neocore go out of business in the last two weeks or something? Or maybe they pulled a Relic Studios/THQ and just decided to quit halfway through...? That'd at least be typical for GW video games, I guess.
5 years 145 days ago
+4
Brother Kundari
Haha! So we should just sit back and be grateful for whatever half-finished crap they put out? Did your parents buy the game for you or something? Because I honestly can't imagine any other reason for someone to be so pleased with the current state of the game. For those of us who forked over our own money, paid AAA prices for what is currently a bush-league beta, never mind the added cost of deluxe or Imperium editions and whatever we might have contributed during development, this just isn't anywhere close to an acceptable product.
5 years 153 days ago
+4
A fair post indeed. Though considering the  current state of the game both PC and Console ( xbox for me ) this might be a truth no one wants to face. I cant even play my game anymore, its too unstable, which is weird because I have been playing for two weeks steadily and now all of a sudden its crashing and shutting down my console. I love Neocore games, bought every recent one including this gem ( not sarcasm ) but I cant even play anymore without risking a crash to home screen or a emperor forbid a automatic shutdown of my system entirely. My faith is waning :(


This game is amazing fun and addictive but if I cant even play than  I got nothing but a paper weight, hell not even that since I bought digital. 


5 years 150 days ago
+4
As we near November and, supposedly, the release of Season 1 content for consoles as well as content updates for PC this seems to be all the development team want to focus on. @Marcopolocs and @Megapull have been vocal in publicizing what I'm sure is great new content. But remain completely silent on the fact that no one will actually get to enjoy it if they don't fix the existing bugs. 


Pushing out new content is a good thing, and I can't stress enough how much I like this game when it works. But prioritizing new content over fixing known and utterly game-breaking bugs just makes no sense whatsoever. Even a small studio must have some quality control.

5 years 148 days ago
+3
Posted by Brother Kundari 5 years 148 days ago
Well, when I was writing my post I also referred to Bugs fixes and stuff too. Not only to what is on the Roadmap. But don´t foirget that all this is being worked on.

And sometimes easy things is turning into bigger difficulty unseen ones. They are a Team and they are working on everything at the same time. And if they are going to hire more people that can work on specific things they need to hire more staff, which again costs money.


And no matter what. It doesn´t help to nag at them that bugs needs fixes. All platforms needs it. We are aware of it, they are aware of it. One day it will come update. This game is far from over.

Well if you're happy to have paid a beta game full price well ... I can do nothing for you. But this board is full of players who can't play the game anymore (except boring warzone missions) because whatever character they restart from beginning, they all get to game crashing bugs at several steps of the story mission progression.


The game is out now for more than 2 months and the previous patches that were released, introduced new bugs. They are working on the beta for sure, but obviously not in the right direction.


Damn I bought the game with the season pass, and after 2 months i feel like having thrown away €80 out of the window (silly me i bought it digital so not even a refund possible). I feel so frustrated that such a great Games Workshop licence received such a treatment. Everybody knows that GW fan community will jump on games in that universe, especially with a clone of Diablo. And here is the result ........


I think I'm a kind of a person who can understand things, but come on, I have the game for more that 2 months and I actually was able to play it normally for 3 weeks ! The rest was occupied by posting bug report and WAIT (that they unlock my character on their side) and WAIT again because story missions are broken.


And when you get hope in the forthcoming patch when you hear that it is solved on their end, and that the patch is in certification process, damn, that was more than 2 weeks ago. A patch is released every 2 days for fortnite !


So at last, if you want another good game, the kind of you like, try warhammer quest on ps4, you'll see the damage ! Never seen such a glitched game, once again ruining GW universe. Fortunatly Space Hulk Tactics plays at another level ^^

5 years 147 days ago
+3
Brother Kundari
I don't think they are working on anything. I think the team has bit of more than they can chew.. made a huge mistake and are trying to sell. They have left no updates other than "We are working on it" it's been over a month since they sent out the kill patch. And they have said nothing. Im really upset I've gone back to d3 as I've got nothing else I want to play. I know a lot of other people are saying the same, yes it WAS an amazing game. But without support and an ETA from the devs then they are going to lose everyone. 
5 years 147 days ago
+3
Posted by sephyffx 5 years 147 days ago
I don't think they are working on anything. I think the team has bit of more than they can chew.. made a huge mistake and are trying to sell. They have left no updates other than "We are working on it" it's been over a month since they sent out the kill patch. And they have said nothing. Im really upset I've gone back to d3 as I've got nothing else I want to play. I know a lot of other people are saying the same, yes it WAS an amazing game. But without support and an ETA from the devs then they are going to lose everyone. 
If I was the devs I'd pull there fingers out and say something soon or people are going to start demanding money back. And that will kill the game
5 years 146 days ago
+3
Posted by NaylOrion 5 years 147 days ago
Exactly. Certification doesn't take 6 weeks. I suppose it could take this long, if Neocore hasn't actually submitted anything yet. Which is probably the case. I suppose it's also possible they're referring to some internal certification process, in which case the only reason it would take this long is if the devs are hopelessly out of their depth trying to fix something they (rather obviously) didn't design properly in the first place. 

But whatever. I'm standing by my previous statement: the November update will add great new content AND fix all (and I do mean ALL) known bugs without creating new and equally game-breaking ones, or this game is dead (along with Neocore's hopes of profitability). I'm genuinely hoping they pull it together, but I'm also searching for ways to get a refund on a digital product (probably by complaining to Sony enough that they issue refunds and then go after Neocore themselves). 

We know that November brings the season 1 content. I'm guessing they have an internal budget or schedule that dictates how often they release updates. I think they gambled on the idea of waiting and releasing one large patch/content download all at once. Problem is its taking too long and they are pissing off the community with the severe game breaking bugs that have not been addressed over the past month. I don't think they ever anticipated any of these problems since Oct 2 and the plan has totally backfired. We had the game release in August, the first patch in September and the last patch in early October. Looks like a one thing per month pattern to me..
5 years 146 days ago
+3
CrazyBizzy

With bugs stacking up at each patch :P


@outpatient8 and @NaylOrion : i totally agree with you both :)

5 years 145 days ago
+3
Brother Kundari
You should probably go. 
5 years 144 days ago
+3
Posted by NaylOrion 5 years 145 days ago

Since Marco and the devs seem not to understand how this is meant to work, I thought I'd share an example of community management done right. This is copied from a recent interview with the AC: Odyssey team. 

Ubisoft says it’s working on a fix and hopes to reinstate the Mercenary Events “later this month.” In the meantime, it writes, “we will activate 1x Epic Ship Event each week moving forward. And as a thank you for your patience and understanding, we will be activating a discount of -80 Orichalcum for the Legendary item that Sargon (Oikos of the Olympians) will sell next week.”

So you see? It's not a difficult thing. Granted, the issue with Odyssey right now is that a global event isn't populating properly, not a series of massive game-breaking crashes. But they are handling it professionally and expediently, and are offering some repayment to their community. 

Exactly, some company understood that a perfect product is rarely achieved, even if i'm sure all of them want to release it.

When it's out, they'll have to deal with the things that fell between the cracks.

That's the time to deal as well with players reporting bugs, and wondering why it hasn't been seen during testing phases.


You have companies like ubisoft that understood that if a customer is not satisfied, he won't come back ! 

And we don't like being lied to ^^


This comment was edited 5 years 144 days ago by KiLLyoX69
5 years 148 days ago
+2

I just don't understand the excuse that updates need certification. If Sony knows a game is broken and needs an immediate fix they are not going to make their consumers wait weeks. They are going to push through required hot fixes or updates that allow players to PLAY THE GAME. Its not like we are waiting for balance tweaks or additional content. I've said it many times on this forum, but Fortnite updates literally pop up every 2 or 3 days on my PS4 yet we have to wait nearly a month  just have a working game? It makes no sense to me.


Obviously I really enjoy this game. I wouldn't care to be on this forum if I didn't. I am not here to complain and troll the dev team. I want to just play and enjoy the product as intended.

5 years 147 days ago
+2
CrazyBizzy
Exactly. Certification doesn't take 6 weeks. I suppose it could take this long, if Neocore hasn't actually submitted anything yet. Which is probably the case. I suppose it's also possible they're referring to some internal certification process, in which case the only reason it would take this long is if the devs are hopelessly out of their depth trying to fix something they (rather obviously) didn't design properly in the first place. 

But whatever. I'm standing by my previous statement: the November update will add great new content AND fix all (and I do mean ALL) known bugs without creating new and equally game-breaking ones, or this game is dead (along with Neocore's hopes of profitability). I'm genuinely hoping they pull it together, but I'm also searching for ways to get a refund on a digital product (probably by complaining to Sony enough that they issue refunds and then go after Neocore themselves). 

5 years 146 days ago
+2
NaylOrion
If we want refunds on our digital copies, we will need to work together with coordinate effort. Without moving as one, our chances at any sort of recompense is highly unlikely. 


5 years 145 days ago
+2
NaylOrion
I think for forum admins have given up lol.... there should be some refund/gift for the players as it's basicly become impossible to play the game with any sort of progression. 
5 years 143 days ago
+2

Hi,
the patch containing the crash issues will either come this week or in the first half of the next week. We would like to ask your kind patience until then.
Apart from that there will be one additional content update this week for both Xbox and PS4. 

5 years 142 days ago
+2
Marcopolocs
So, what you're saying is that you will definitely be releasing additional content, that we definitely won't be able to access because no one can progress past the main storyline, and maybe you'll fix the bugs whenever you feel like it? I guess we'll just have to wait (more) and see what you deliver.

But just for future reference, let me help you, since you obviously still don't understand how this is supposed to work. Step 1: FIX THE GAME WE ALREADY HAVE. Step 2: Worry about new content. 

But thanks for responding, I guess.

5 years 142 days ago
+2
Marcopolocs
Awww poor Marcopolocs, now you've stooped to deleting my comments because I've called out your nonsensical approach to community management? That's pathetic. 

The bug fix should've been prioritized, and no content should've been released (not Charybdis Outpost, and not Season 1) until the game was in a functional state. It's not my fault your team doesn't know what it's doing, and it's not my fault you've been lying to us for over 6 weeks now. We all know that, so deleting my comments like some spoiled child is only proving my point. So thanks again.

5 years 142 days ago
+2
Oh look! New content that has only introduced new bugs! And all of the old game-breaking bugs and crashes still haven't been addressed at all! If only there were a team of people sitting around with nothing better to do than fix what they have broken... 
5 years 148 days ago
+1
This comment was deleted 5 years 143 days ago by Jim Fox
5 years 142 days ago
This comment was deleted 5 years 142 days ago by Marcopolocs
5 years 150 days ago
-3

I may get a slap from some of you, but I do believe that the Devs is working on it. Yes, I do agree we do need a few fixes and such for all platforms. But at the same time do have a look at their roadmap as well. If you actually do take a look, you will see that there is quite a few things coming now firstcoming November and December. DLCs, Tiers, Events, etc.

All of this is going to be worked on and checked that everything is a ok before release. So you see quite a bit of work. Making all this does take time.


And what are the Developers really going to say other than yes, we are working on it. An occasional update from the Devs is nice to have, but sometimes it haggles in from several 100s and 1000s of people that we want this, we want that, you Devs MUST do this and hey, ho and even more. Cmon, they are doing quite a bit already. Give them some elbow room here, and we will see an update from them on occasions coming.

5 years 148 days ago
-3
Well, when I was writing my post I also referred to Bugs fixes and stuff too. Not only to what is on the Roadmap. But don´t foirget that all this is being worked on.

And sometimes easy things is turning into bigger difficulty unseen ones. They are a Team and they are working on everything at the same time. And if they are going to hire more people that can work on specific things they need to hire more staff, which again costs money.


And no matter what. It doesn´t help to nag at them that bugs needs fixes. All platforms needs it. We are aware of it, they are aware of it. One day it will come update. This game is far from over.

5 years 142 days ago
-3
NaylOrion
We are aware of the problem on PS4 which affected quite some players' progress and these will get fixed this week or by the next!
5 years 145 days ago
-6

Well, I don´t think complaining and nagging makes things go faster.