That's the one I got a sneak peek of, and was allowed to draw from for the exclusive article, along with other content that they shared. :) If they remained on schedule, then my article was posted only 3-1/2 hours before the press release was published, because Erik told me it would be 9am Pacific Coast time US. I really love that Next Island is openly sharing with the community.
Mindark shared the same high amount of information in the beginning too, if not more. It's necesary to draw in the crowds so let's hope the Next Island people are as motivated after 10 years as they are now ;)
That's a very valid point Opti ... and since I didn't come on the scene until 4/2/05, I wasn't around in the very beginning to witness what their communication style was. I can only assess based on the last 5-1/2 years plus. I've had great conversations with the developers for Next Island and Cyrene so far, and I am very impressed with their direction and mission for this universe. I think they are being quite innovative in their approach, and if they remain connected with the community, I see it only being of great benefit to them. Somebody has to really care about the community, and not approach this universe with a 6-12 month turnaround mindset. I think this minimizes the immense potential this universe has for our future. If this is an RCE, with goals to closely parallel real life in some way, then it's imperative to be tuned in to the pulse of the community. If not, then we may end up with the same situation as we have now with Calypso.
I was thinking about this too. There is a lot of truth to what your saying there. Every business has an agenda. However, it's also the case that MA and FPC I think care more about everyone else rather than the player base. They'll never announce anything to the playerbase and we have to find things out indirectly. This has happened so many times in the past. Most recent one seems to be that press release about the harbinger event they've released that to the whole world and basically said f** off to us the players as it doesn't seem to feature on PCF (i haven't even bothered visiting that site yet so wouldn't know myself). MA have no way to communicate with the players and judging by Marcos comment on this issue on PCF they are only going to be talking to planet partners and not players. Their lack of interest in players I think accounts for the financial mess they are in. Everyone has a limit, players are generally more forgiving in EU due to it being an RCE but eventually they get tired and move on. I doubt FPC are going to change in this respect probably get worse from what I can see... Edit: Just been exploring PFC site, PFC newsbot has picked up on the press release about 10 mins after EP newsbot. It doesn't look like it on the forum but if you go to new posts you can see it.
I have to agree Ace ... it seems the players are the last to know anything when it comes to MindArk and FPC, and that's really a shame. I don't get what harm they think it will do if they communicate with us more regarding this stuff, really ... what's the big deal? It just shows me that they have a different definition of community, but it has hurt them more than it has helped them. For MindArk (hello David - I saw you lurking) ... the planet partners are their customers, and I can absolutely appreciate that, but for FPC, the community represents their customer base, and I think a more open and interactive role would serve them much better. For Marco to post that something is coming, and then not present it to the community first before announcing it to the world is just wrong. I would like for him to come here and answer why it's done this way, and what the big-ass secret is that WE, their paying customers, can't learn about what's happening in our universe before the whole world does. Quite frankly ... if FPC doesn't fine-tune their interaction with this community, and stop thinking that content and events is all there is to keeping us happy, then I fear that things will continue to get worse. I guess I just don't understand what the big deal is about caring a bit more for the community. :( A company needs to profit, yes ... but why not interact with the community in a way that I'm sure would gain more support in this effort in the long-run, rather than making us feel that information is so much more important to give to the outside world first before those of us who contribute to that profit line.
I actually believe they do believe they care about the community. I just don't believe they made a research first to find out exactly how they can care for us the best way. Is it by offering more land? New mobs? More events? More missions? Halloween gifts? Having their own forum? Writing front page stories? We might have different thoughts and wishes when it comes to what we find is important to do to involve the community more and what we feel is 'caring', but a few things that pop up in my mind is "Better communication than a short reply to others threads" - better involvements in the community's work with the game (afterall, they get a lot of free work power from the community) - better communication and cooperation between community player base and the Developers teams - Better ability to listen to the community's problems and concerns instead of just running faster to provide more features, which just cost more to use ... I once had a boss who told me some wise words, and some of them where: As a boss you have to walk in front, but you should never run so fast, that the others miss you out of sight ..(dont know the English expression) - but it's so true. And I feel that MA (FPC ... as the "Big Boss" or provider) runs so fast sometimes that I can't keep track anymore. Nothing seem to be all done and finished. And it brings up concerns and frustrations, which again gives a feeling of a wrong and misunderstood community-handling... Dunno. My personal feeling is, that they do not do it in purpose, but because they have too much work and projects, that they forget to stop up and feel, what's really needed RIGHT now to get the community on board with all their projects and the way they are heading. If this game was different - if it wasn't my OWN money I was playing for (but a fixed amount a month in a game where things where already set up and you knew, things worked) - I would sit back and not expect the same. But the game setup is made to make it look as if the community matters, because the community builds up the game and make it expand and develope, which is why I would expect more. And also expect to be heard from time to time ...
