Me Too, about having a civil discussion on this forum, I'm very glad to be in one. It seems uncommon on forums, even on a so called teenage-rated ones as this.
Yes, I am sure that EA continually reorganize their forums, so while I have not played the game or been a member for nearly that long, them wanting their different forums and sections to be used differently through the years are not hard to believe. I think as a player in need to be heard, these suggestions are to be taken a bit lightly; and posting in several sections will make it possible for more and different players to interact and be aware of the thread. Hence the suggestion to post at AHQ - not to say that posting here is wrong, but that posting everywhere is better, so to speak. Appearantly twitter too.
Yes, they should be better at player-relations; but I don't expect a large company like EA to be, or why anyone would think they have this as a drive. Making games are for profit; not idealism.
The point of asking for this information, about the patch notes and how they manage the bug forum and what can be done on a player level to help, in several places; is just because I don't think it will happen without some pressure. This pressure can come in several ways. I'm not one for screaming internet down, but that is one way to create a large enough situation; but for those of us who want a civil conversation, letting EA and their representatives clearly know what is needed, therefore posting across the plattforms, is another. Perhaps a civil request will attract attention and agreeing posts/Me Too's from the player base that ignore the screaming as well.
I completely agree about the signatures on the champions/heroes on AHQ, about not working for EA. When I first started to read there I wondered why it had to be said at all, since I don't expect them to be, the proper ones being clearly titled EA-something, or Community Manager, SimGuru etc.
I think the reason for the signatures are partly that there are many, more than I would think, who post in the forum thinking they will get help from EA personnel, and need to be made aware that the one helping them are not speaking as official representatives for EA. But there is a joint plattform where champions and heroes have contact with the EA personnel, and the heroes get administrative power to move and merge and made to disappear threads in the forum; so there is some inside knowledge on their part, and I think this clarification is a request from EA as part of it.
The bug forum is in large part handled and organized by crinrict, all of it. There is a lot of information written on how she does it, on the AHQ forum; but I have yet to find info on how EA, the AHQ Community Managers, The Sim Gurus, and The Sims Team handles the bug reports. The few times any of them post in the bug report threads, it is to ask for saves, or to report a thread being by design, for instance.
More information might be shared to heroes and champions; I am neither.
It truly is a despicable system.
Looking at how the bug reports are being interpreted by the players making them, I think a lot of players misunderstands their point, and how to make a bug report. There is info on how to fill them in, but clearly not enough. The template is too simple and lacks details; and yet is it too confusing for the, often seemingly child, that makes them. The system could certainly be made to be more efficient, and hopefully more will ask for it. ;)
