Message from the CM

"Letthewookiewin;554550" wrote:
Jesse,

In all seriousness and without hyperbole, this last set of updates has been a gigantic mess. The Mods themselves may turn out to be workable in the long run. I don't mind giving some time to work out the kinks. However, I think it's fair to point out, for the good of the game, that the implementation of these changes has been mishandled and this needs to be addressed.

The first reaction to the big update was negative once people saw just how drastically Mods could change the game. Some folks overreacted a bit, sure, but I think that's somewhat understandable since one of your own even mentioned initial "sticker shock" upon testing the Mods. It was still fixable, though.

Then, unfortunately, you guys doubled down. You dropped the Mod drop rate and didn't respond at all to repeated concerns about using cantina energy and lack of player balancing. I don't expect you to give us all the details, but when the immediate response to the player outcry was to make things even harder on everyone, that's when things really took an ugly turn. And then there is the repeated badgering about the TOS on the site, which comes across poorly, since it looks like you won't respond to requests but are quick to punish fairly minor infractions on the forum. That should not be your priority right now.

I'm not going to threaten anyone or use harsh words, but I seldom post here at all and I logged in tonight to say this: the changes you have implemented since introducing Mods have been, almost completely, a step backward. Making drops less frequent is the wrong move. Nerfing toons (without saying you have) is a horrible idea right now. Refusing to budge on the concerns with Galactic War and not even commenting much other than to say, effectively, "this is how it's going to be" is a bad idea. All of these things at once have really upset your player base.

For the good of the game, perhaps even its long term survival, you as a team MUST address these concerns directly, honestly, and without defensiveness. I understand that you guys have been called out here, and that's no fun. But please respond with kind words and show understanding to the players (consumers of this product.) It really will help everyone in the long run. It's still not too late to fix this. But more missteps carry a large risk of irreparable harm. And I don't think anyone really wants that. This is a good game with great potential. Let's work together to make it better.

This is well put, and I think that an open and honest engagement on each of these points is really a bare minimum.

More wholistically, and I will speak only for myself, my reservoir of trust and good will is just spent. I would like to think there are explanations for many of the recent decisions other than spiteful or punitive motivations, but am all-too-often mystified what those may be. More so than "fixing" these concerns, an open and honest engagement on these issues would go a long way to generating some good will. Ideally, that wouldn't look like a hasty patch crammed down our throats tomorrow, but perhaps we're beyond that.

I know I'm at a distinct tipping point, though. Time to make your customers feel they're a part of something rather than victims of it. Hope that unifying vector of people's discontent is clear and conveyed. And that it's not too late to do something about it (or that the current player base isn't an acceptable write-off).