Cantina event follow up…

Apr 24

Posted by

swca-panel

Presentation:

The presentation of the event was nicely done with ESL and the host. But essentially it was the ‘Dev Stream 2.0’, on that I was disappointed about that. My speculation is that Bioware wanted to ride the same wave from the March Dev Stream and hype. Bioware could’ve just continued on from the Dev stream and just have ‘recapped’, and could’ve gone into the new information from there. But guessing they wanted to somewhat drag it out to fill space. But I can’t help to say that it still felt like they were falling short in some areas. Now granted there was a few setbacks, and I wasn’t too sure of what happened in regards to the team up of Bioware and ESL. But seeing that ESL streamed the Cantina event confirmed that there’s still a partnership going on. And I speculate that at some point Bioware will do another type of event in conjunction with ESL. Any future ‘Operation: Victory’ event? Or any event to make up for it?

Bioware’s stream presentation is going in the right direction but I hope not to see a repeat of a repeat. Especially for the San Diego Cantina, even though it’ll be after the 3.2 update. Maybe Bioware will see that the presentation needs to move forward and not stay somewhat stagnant. Trickle out some new teasers or tidbits every now and then, peak our interests, get us talking about it. Market it and own it.

Next on the list for Bioware would be that they’re working already on the new content for after 3.2, probably class balances updates, minor bug and visual fixes (Rishi bridge). And more than likely preparing for the San Diego Cantina and presentation. Maybe another Dev stream before then? To give a few tidbits of new content?

I’m always giving Bioware the benefit of the doubt and saying to myself that it’s growing pains for them. Being that it’s their first MMO, the game has so much potential, and I see it as this is only the beginning. The community wants more, I know I do. One suggestion is to drop the whole, “Can we say that?”, that is what’s separating the community from the company. Bioware needs to take a updated approach on community reveals and information. Granted, I’m not versed in the inner workings of Bioware’s infrastructure. Bioware is holding a double-edge sword because the community lashes out at them for no information, and if they fall short of information we lash right back at them.

All the information so far is focusing on subscriptions, okay, understandable. More revenue, more employees, more content. A better overall experience for the company and it’s community, win win.

But one thing that drives me crazy is the silent treatment that the community gets from wanting some questions answered, which brings me to the next part.

Q&A’s:

The Q&A was horrid, the real hard-hitting questions was screened and thrown out, WHY? Similar questions have been asked before with the same results. The bridge between the Bioware and the community seems to be getting further and not closer. By continuing on this path, it will certainly drive players away rather than closer. As I’ve been typing this post out, I’ve seen a few tweets to Eric Mucso expressing how displease they are, not to mention the forum posts. So many questions that the community has that were left unanswered. PvP, GSF, nightmare mode, are just to name a few. Let’s see what the next event has in store for the community.

Stay tuned to The Balance Force.

Posted on 04/24/2015, in Gaming, MMO, SWTOR, The Balance Force and tagged , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink. 6 Comments.

  1. mhorgrim | 04/24/2015 at 10:26 am

    Interesting article. As for growing pains…I rememebr when SWG first came out, when WoW came out, when numerous games came out. While there are certainly things they can work on, believe me when I tell you that bio ware has done a ton of advancement sice it first put SWTOR into play. I know that if you were at the very beginning when it launched it can be frustraing to see the same bug over and over. Understand that they have a limited budget and will devote resources to said budget to keep the game going well overall. They have done far better job than FunCom ever did with AoC or Anarchy Online. When SWG first came out is was almost unplayable at the time and was down at least twice a week for 3 hour maintainence issues. Even the mighty WoW still has had major issues in the first 5 years of its existance…especially when they put out Burning Crusades. There isn’t an MMO out there that listens as well as Bio Ware to its customer base. You should see how it goes on EQ and EQ2. Now are there things they need to work on? ABSOLUTELY. But umm overall, the game is in much better shape than most on the market, especially since the game is only in its 4th or 5th year. Now, I’m not a fanboy…just that I’ve been watching MMO trends for 12 some odd years now. It’s the same cycle with every mmo out there.

    While the Q&A may not have been to your liking, remember that a company is trying to promote itself, so of course it makes sense that they would avoid hard hitting potentially fiscal damaging questions. This is business for every company in existence. Finally, take the forums with a grain of salt. Most forum posters play less and less of the game while working more and more on higher levels of discontent for self promotional purposes. that’s human nature. If the game were in that bad of shape, the company would shut it down as it wasn’t bringing in any sort of profit. Sky isnt falling yet my friend. Forum warriors aren’t spending time out there playing, they are forum posting. I usually see them shut up when I ask them how many bugs did they report on the Test Server. Finally, know matter how hard the comapny tries, it’s not going to please everyone. It will prioritize content, expansions, mechanics of class balance and bug issues with what will help them bring the most profit while maintaining overall custer statisfaction.

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  2. mhorgrim | 04/24/2015 at 11:19 am

    Which really makes sense on a marketing level. My larger beef is how they are beginning to make crafted gear obsolete and the massive overpricing of goods on the GTN. But I am excited about the new expansion pack. And I love the fact that my Alienware rig runs it like a pro on max settings even on Ebonhawk.

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  3. MaxTheGrey | 04/27/2015 at 10:33 pm

    Good summary and agree on most of the points. I do agree that it would be interesting to hear more announcements and that the Q&A could be more interesting, but as mhorgrim says up above, they do need to make it a positive event in general. This precludes them from including the potential questions like “Why do you hate PvPers?”, etc. 🙂

    I also expect that team had a lot of visibility from their management at that event. If I’m having to go out in public and in front of the executives of my company, I certainly would be careful about the questions I was willing and able to answer. We do know that off-stage, the Q&A gets more interesting.

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    • Master Liu | 04/27/2015 at 10:51 pm

      Max, first let me say, thank you for checking out my blog. Much appreciated. And yes, you’re correct as far as in front of corporate heads, dotting their I’s and crossing their T’s. I still think that Bioware needs to take a different approach and be just a bit more transparent, just a bit more.

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