PR skills from EA and Moderators/ Beta testing community....

Two things two bring up ...

Firstly, I have to point out that PR skills from moderators and EA Team members aren't exactly up to scratch especially when it comes to reporting game and bug issues. The automatic response is "post a DX Dialog and your system Specs" and nothing else. And when an EA team member chimes in, it's pretty much the same thing. This response has an unspoken implication that the issue is solely with the end-user and is rather poor PR and tends to frustrate and offend people. However, if the response was more along the lines of "Thank you for reporting the issue, I will pass it onto the developers immediately. If you could also provide a DX Dialog and your system specs that can help us to rule out your system having an issue." That will not only give end-users more assurance, it will also have us not feel like we're being ignored. Look, I understand that in some instances the issue may indeed be with the end-users system, but i think you'll find that instance is a distinct minority when compared to the amount of times that it is a game/patch issue.

Secondly, I think we need to go back to EA/Maxis involving a Beta-Testing community as was done in the first decade of the sims franchise when packs were released with no issues. When EA/Maxis decided to completely bypass the Beta-Testers and dump games on the general public (circa 2012/13), that is when issues starting popping up left, right and centre. And when EA/Maxis started going down the DLC road .... that is when every release has been plagued with issues at various times for various people. Please, bring back the beta-testers. Okay, it will mean we'll have to wait a bit longer for a bug free game/patch/expansion/kit/whatever, but - honestly - gamers would be willing to wait if it meant their games would have no problems.

gameplay issue

22 Replies

jpkarlsen
Hero (Retired)
3 years ago
@taffster74
This is a user help user forum so it will never fly that we users should promise to send an issue to the developers. Us that help here generally have many years of experience with the game and troubleshooting and since a DxDiag quite often is helpful in diagnosing a technical problem you will often see a request for one. The most seen problem here is with outdated mods/CC. If something is suspected to be a bug in the game people will be asked to post in the bug forum or if there are an existing bug thread asked to post in that..
taffster74
New Veteran
3 years ago
@jpkarlsen two things ...
a) this is a general discussion feedback sub-forum with moderators who submit issues to the EA team members. And as it is a feedback forum, i am providing feedback regarding the PR skills of the moderators and EA team members here - including the stock and standard DXDiag response and the way it is delivered.

b) you seem to have missed my point. As i stated above, i am providing feedback regarding the moderators and EA team members PR skills (which are lacking). Simply saying "post a DX Diag and you system specs" has an unspoken implication that regardless of the issue being reported and details given regarding said issue, the immediate go to is "Well, it must be the end users system" rather than a moderator saying, "Well, okay yes there is an issue. it will be reported. And just to cover all bases, can you please post a DxDiag and your system specs on the off-chance that it is not a bug in the program/patch/etc". Personally, i know what i'd prefer. Especially when i give details as to what was happening before the issue occurred and what happened to lead to the issue - as the greater majority of people do. general players do not like being treated like idiots and some common courtesy will go a long way. And there is very little common courtesy shown from moderators and EA team members on these forums.

Again, i am providing feedback in a forum labelled "General discussion/Feedback".
xochiquetzl_xkvn
Seasoned Ace
3 years ago
@taffster74
My understanding (which, since I don't work for EA, might be faulty) is that every bug report that's complete (with the template) and with a good, comprehensible description of the issue is sent to the devs via a regular "scrape." Like, you wouldn't expect them to promise to work on an issue like:

Title: SIMS 4 BROKEN
Message body: FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Uh, okay, so... what's broken? The team needs to understand the problem in order to be able to reproduce it and fix it. That's far too vague.
A DxDiag is actually a reasonable request for things like graphics-quality-related issues (like frame rate drops, etc.). It's less that it's all your fault and more that, you know, at what level can supported PCs and graphics cards not keep up with a certain feature? Like, apparently my computer cannot handle Oakenstead as a green Eco lot without dropping frames to 1 fps, and it's not a high-end gaming PC but it's not a potato, either. They need my specs and dxdiag for that.
taffster74
New Veteran
3 years ago
@xochiquetzl_xkvn problem is, the way the moderators word the request doesn't come across as very conducive. All they say is, "post a dxdiag and your system specs" and nothing else.

let's take this hypothetical .... say you're predominantly left-handed and you want to learn to play guitar. You go out and buy a guitar but ... it's a right-handed guitar. You ring up the guitar store and they say, "Well, it's not our fault. re-string the guitar upside down. Hendrix did it." is that "advice" at all helpful? No. Or say, you do buy a left-handed guitar and you sign up with a tutor.... but they're right-handed and have never taught a left-hander before. They say "Well, you should learn to play right-handed." Is that helpful? No. Basically, that is what the moderators here are doing. They have a set parameter of answer to give to any given problem and will not work outside those parameters. So therefore PR and courtesy goes out the door. As i have said previously, if they just change their approach by thanking people who provide detailed (well, as detailed as possible) info on a particular issue, guaranteeing it will be passed on and then asking for a DxDiag and system specs - just to cover all bases - regular users wouldn't get so frustrated.

As a side note, I can understand mod's asking for details when someone simply says there's a problem - fix it! and don't provide no other information. I'm not talking about those situations.
Bluebellflora
Hero+
3 years ago
@taffster74

Please can you explain who you are defining as Moderators? Which role do they have under their name in posts? If you are referring to Heroes and Champions, perhaps this helpful FAQ will make the roles a little clearer for you - https://answers.ea.com/t5/General-Information/Heroes-and-Champions-Support-Volunteer-Helpers-of-AHQ/m-p/8924397#M1

Answers HQ is a platform for players to help players get back into their game. All helpers here are volunteers, unaffiliated with EA. It is not a predominantly PR platform. I would go so far as to add that the very nature of these forums is almost the antithesis of PR (but there's no such thing as bad PR right? 🙂 ). EA are encouraging people to report problems with their game, to publicly state they cannot properly run the game, whether that is because of a bug or the user's setup, and to seek out help from other users - users who are experienced with the game or have technical know-how about the platform in question. In that process, other users who are seeking help for a similar issue will come across a post and either get the help they need or add to the discussion, providing more info that helps the player or more info that helps troubleshooting.

You only have to browse the Tech. forums and Gameplay & Mods forum to see how helpful players are to each other and how appreciative the vast majority of players looking for help are. Perhaps only being predominantly active in an ongoing bug thread skews the perspective a bit? I get it, it can be incredibly frustrating when a bug is introduced that renders the game unplayable. I've been there many times over the last 22 years of playing the Sims. But we can all help each other and being divisive doesn't help anyone, it only serves to make a frustrating situation even worse.
taffster74
New Veteran
3 years ago
@Bluebellflora It is PR - very basic PR. Whether people are moderators or not, really is not the point. When you see the same person continually responding/giving advice/asking for system details, they basically are taking on a moderator role. And as such, basic PR skills are required otherwise you run the risk of p'ing people off. Basically, deal with people as you would like them to deal with you. Most people expect to be treated with common decency without any unspoken inferences. Say a helper is a computer Geek - for them to expect everyone to be as knowledge about computer systems and tech as they are is unrealistic. So them dealing with the general public as if everyone is as techie as they are is not common courtesy. If that means that the techie person has to step off their pedestal and come to realville, so be it. I'll only speak to people as i would like them to talk to me. That's why i explain myself and why i explain things the way i do. Because sometimes, people need to be taught and the only way to do that is to explain.
Bluebellflora
Hero+
3 years ago
@taffster74

From reading your posts it seems like you don't fully understand how Answers HQ works and its purpose which is why I linked to the help thread in my earlier post. PR is irrelevant here when trying to help people as we are players helping players and unaffiliated with EA. And no, regular posters do not take on Moderator roles. Again, this is covered in the link I provided.

In the bug thread you are active in, you stated that Mac users are experiencing the lag issue worse than Windows users. I asked you yesterday to provide me with links to Mac users who are experiencing this specific lag issue since the recent patch. You have chosen not to do so. This would be valuable information because I'm still struggling to find any Mac users experiencing this exact issue.
taffster74
New Veteran
3 years ago
@Bluebellflora Ah, i did not state that Mac users are experiencing the lag issue worse than windows users. What i said was that it appears that Mac and console users are experiencing similar issues. I also said that this was based on a perusal of the the mac and console forums. If you do not wish to follow up for yourself, that is your problem - not mine. There is a big difference between saying "appears" and what you are claiming i said. Here you are making an assumption based on incorrect evidence. Now i am correcting you. Will this response now be deleted because i dared to do so, just like my last post in the bug section dealing with patch 1.88 has been suddenly deleted? If so, then that is a "Helper" taking on a moderator role.
taffster74
New Veteran
3 years ago
@crinrict why was my previous response to this deleted? In no way did i criticize you or anyone. I simply explained the way people have been addressed/ the assumptions that have been made based on incomplete data and how things are done in the normal world. There was no need to delete the post just because you did not agree with it. That is taking on a moderator role and is not being helpful in the slightest.
crinrict
Hero+
3 years ago
@taffster74 I don't know. I don't delete posts. Again, not a moderator. All I do is merge threads that are the same and move threads that were posted in the wrong forum and edit titles to make them more clear.

I'm guessing someone must have reported it or a CM saw it and removed it.