Since there is no Q&A this month...
fight4thedream
GLOBAL_MODERATORS Posts: 1,980 Chairperson of the Boards
i decided to spearhead the letter to the devs project that was mentioned but never got off the ground (found here: viewtopic.php?f=7&t=20691&p=268241#p268241). [Sorry Enoc99 I didn't mean to pull the rug from under you, just was in the mood to write something. If you have any comments or anything you feel should be added, please feel free to let me know.]Having read all of the points in the thread and looking at the data of the current D3 Priorities poll I will try to write a concise letter that hits on all the major issues that concern the forum community. Obviously we have to choose our battles wisely here and i will do my best to try not to run off on tangents and blab on as i am prone to do. Since this will be a letter representing the will of the community, any and all feedback is welcome but please understand the limitations of such a project. For example, as much as i would love to see a Spider-Man buff, non-competitive modes and an actual Quest I will set aside my own personal agendas to address the issues that affect the community as a whole, and i ask that you keep this in mind in your comments and critique. Of course, general editing and argument logic critiques are appreciated. i plan on submitting this letter to Hi-Fi guy on January 26th (it would be funny if they somehow addressed these issues before then) which should be enough time for proper discussion and editing. Of course, if the forum finds the final version of this letter to be unrepresentative i will axe the project. So without further ado..
Dear D3 and demiurge,
We, the members of the forum community, are writing you to express our appreciation and concerns with regards to your game, Marvel Puzzle Quest. First, we wish to express our thanks for making such an awesome game! Despite our sometimes harsh critiques of certain development decisions, the basic game play mechanic is solid and fun, and the majority of the characters you have released are a joy to play with. Truly, where you excel most at is in character development and it is comforting to know that when a character has not reached its full potential you are willing to take the time to improve upon the original design (i.e. Loki, Doctor Doom, Daredevil, etc.).
However, we believe the current influx of new characters has drastically outpaced other areas of the game and we are concerned about how it is affecting the overall game experience. While we understand that part of the strategy of playing the game is managing resources and deciding which characters are worth leveling up or to keep on our rosters, we feel that not enough consideration has been given to the cost of roster slots and the amount of HP/ISO that can be earned through reasonable play. Obviously the issue plays out differently across the player progression spectrum, with lack of HP being more of a limiting factor for 1* and 2* players and lack of ISO being more of 3* and 4* player issue in general. Additionally, the increase in characters has exacerbated the problem of 2* to 3* transition. Although the current solution to vault characters has its benefits, most notably allowing the game development team to re-calibrate older characters, it also negatively affects 2* players as it denies them the opportunity to cover max those characters for an extended period of time.
As the game currently exists, there are 4 main tiers of players: 1* players, 2* players, 3*players and 4* players. The points of greatest player frustration occur at the transition period, specifically between 2* to 3* and more recently 3* to 4*. As a community, we would like to know what concrete measures are being considered to ease the transition between these two points in player progression. Various ideas have been suggested on the forum, from creating special tokens to running separate events with different prizes and rewards. Although the player base has reached a stage where there is a clear, dominant elite with a subclass of established rosters, the reward structure has not been modified to address this change. As such, the elite continue to dominate most PvP and LR events in order to reap the most rewards but a consequence of this is that it denies newer players access to older covers since all the best rewards are bundled together and it also denies them a sense of satisfactory game play and progression.
Also the current shield cooldown experiment has created a clear demarcation between 3* and 4* players that hadn't been as pronounced before. Whether intended or not, the current cooldown system has made it extremely difficult for a 3* to 4* transitioning player to progress. Additionally, the current shield cooldowns are also having a negative impact on the ability of higher tier players to play MPQ when they want to play and has made outside game communication virtually essential for those that wish to compete for top ranks in PvP. Many of us believe that the development team is aware of these issues since in the last Q&A it was mentioned that the transition from 3* to 4* would be smoother than 2* to 3* and that adjustment to progression awards are being considered. Ideally, both transition periods should be addressed in a way that allows for reasonable progression.
With all that being said, the main questions we as a community would like to be addressed are:
*With the continued increase in characters, what will be done about current roster slot prices?
*Are there any plans to adjust ISO and HP rewards?
*What adjustments are being considered in regards to Shield Cooldowns and Progression Rewards?
*How do you plan on addressing the problems facing the transition from 2* to 3* and 3* to 4*?
We would appreciate any insight you could give us about these questions and issues. We understand that you may be limited in the amount of detail and information you can give but we ask for your honesty and candor in the matter. We as a community want this game to thrive and continue to grow and we believe these are the current problems that hinder the overall enjoyment of the game.
As always, we thank you for your hard work and for taking the time to answer these questions. We know you care just as much if not more about the game than we do and look forward to continue enjoying and progressing in the MPQ universe.
Sincerely,
Forumers United
End notes:
1. Although I wanted to include a suggestions part about possible solutions to the problems discussed, i decided it best not to go further for the sake of length. What do ya'll think? Is it a good idea to forego possible solutions section or do you think it would be worthwhile to give a few of our best to the devs?
2. Basically I am relying heavily on Phaserhawk's poll (viewtopic.php?f=7&t=21992) as being representative of the community.
3. It's actually kind of funny, i was unable to sneak in any of my top three issues: 1. Where is the Quest? , 2. non-competitive content like mini-games and single player mode 3. Spider-Man buff. *sigh* Hopefully after all these problems are addressed i can get to my questions haha ahh no worries, i do it for the love of the game and crazy forum peeps<3
4. might as well nip this one in the bud: yes ark123 i know and agree the UI needs to be fixed so that we can see enemy AP but these matters take precedence. cest la vie.
5. Added esoxnepa's point about negative impact of cooldowns on player's ability to play the game effectively.
Dear D3 and demiurge,
We, the members of the forum community, are writing you to express our appreciation and concerns with regards to your game, Marvel Puzzle Quest. First, we wish to express our thanks for making such an awesome game! Despite our sometimes harsh critiques of certain development decisions, the basic game play mechanic is solid and fun, and the majority of the characters you have released are a joy to play with. Truly, where you excel most at is in character development and it is comforting to know that when a character has not reached its full potential you are willing to take the time to improve upon the original design (i.e. Loki, Doctor Doom, Daredevil, etc.).
However, we believe the current influx of new characters has drastically outpaced other areas of the game and we are concerned about how it is affecting the overall game experience. While we understand that part of the strategy of playing the game is managing resources and deciding which characters are worth leveling up or to keep on our rosters, we feel that not enough consideration has been given to the cost of roster slots and the amount of HP/ISO that can be earned through reasonable play. Obviously the issue plays out differently across the player progression spectrum, with lack of HP being more of a limiting factor for 1* and 2* players and lack of ISO being more of 3* and 4* player issue in general. Additionally, the increase in characters has exacerbated the problem of 2* to 3* transition. Although the current solution to vault characters has its benefits, most notably allowing the game development team to re-calibrate older characters, it also negatively affects 2* players as it denies them the opportunity to cover max those characters for an extended period of time.
As the game currently exists, there are 4 main tiers of players: 1* players, 2* players, 3*players and 4* players. The points of greatest player frustration occur at the transition period, specifically between 2* to 3* and more recently 3* to 4*. As a community, we would like to know what concrete measures are being considered to ease the transition between these two points in player progression. Various ideas have been suggested on the forum, from creating special tokens to running separate events with different prizes and rewards. Although the player base has reached a stage where there is a clear, dominant elite with a subclass of established rosters, the reward structure has not been modified to address this change. As such, the elite continue to dominate most PvP and LR events in order to reap the most rewards but a consequence of this is that it denies newer players access to older covers since all the best rewards are bundled together and it also denies them a sense of satisfactory game play and progression.
Also the current shield cooldown experiment has created a clear demarcation between 3* and 4* players that hadn't been as pronounced before. Whether intended or not, the current cooldown system has made it extremely difficult for a 3* to 4* transitioning player to progress. Additionally, the current shield cooldowns are also having a negative impact on the ability of higher tier players to play MPQ when they want to play and has made outside game communication virtually essential for those that wish to compete for top ranks in PvP. Many of us believe that the development team is aware of these issues since in the last Q&A it was mentioned that the transition from 3* to 4* would be smoother than 2* to 3* and that adjustment to progression awards are being considered. Ideally, both transition periods should be addressed in a way that allows for reasonable progression.
With all that being said, the main questions we as a community would like to be addressed are:
*With the continued increase in characters, what will be done about current roster slot prices?
*Are there any plans to adjust ISO and HP rewards?
*What adjustments are being considered in regards to Shield Cooldowns and Progression Rewards?
*How do you plan on addressing the problems facing the transition from 2* to 3* and 3* to 4*?
We would appreciate any insight you could give us about these questions and issues. We understand that you may be limited in the amount of detail and information you can give but we ask for your honesty and candor in the matter. We as a community want this game to thrive and continue to grow and we believe these are the current problems that hinder the overall enjoyment of the game.
As always, we thank you for your hard work and for taking the time to answer these questions. We know you care just as much if not more about the game than we do and look forward to continue enjoying and progressing in the MPQ universe.
Sincerely,
Forumers United
End notes:
1. Although I wanted to include a suggestions part about possible solutions to the problems discussed, i decided it best not to go further for the sake of length. What do ya'll think? Is it a good idea to forego possible solutions section or do you think it would be worthwhile to give a few of our best to the devs?
2. Basically I am relying heavily on Phaserhawk's poll (viewtopic.php?f=7&t=21992) as being representative of the community.
3. It's actually kind of funny, i was unable to sneak in any of my top three issues: 1. Where is the Quest? , 2. non-competitive content like mini-games and single player mode 3. Spider-Man buff. *sigh* Hopefully after all these problems are addressed i can get to my questions haha ahh no worries, i do it for the love of the game and crazy forum peeps<3
4. might as well nip this one in the bud: yes ark123 i know and agree the UI needs to be fixed so that we can see enemy AP but these matters take precedence. cest la vie.
5. Added esoxnepa's point about negative impact of cooldowns on player's ability to play the game effectively.
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Comments
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It is wonderful. You have covered the most important issues well, and I hope D3 answers this (substantively).0
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Agreed, this is very well written. If no one takes a few minutes to answer this at D3, I believe it will cement what we're all thinking: that no one in charge gives a tinykitty about what its customers think. If that's the case, we might all want to consider moving on from this game, because it's never going to get any better.0
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I hope they acknowledge your letter.
At Mpq headquarters...
Moral Employee: "Sir, we can't keep treating our playerbase like this. Complaints are through the roof!"
Corner Office Guy: "Blah, blah, blah. What do the metrics say?"
Moral Employee: "Well, sir, playtime is actially going up steadily, but the complaints!"
Corner Office Guy: "Continue as planned, release the Squirrel...mwuahahahaha!"0 -
Sorry, but this is just another plea that will fall on deaf ears.0
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While I doubt everyone will be in agreement with all the issues, it seems to be pretty representative of the concerns of the player base.0
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Yes, but it is specifically addressed as such. Whether they care about our collective concerns or not is up to them (probably not, but doesn't mean we shouldn't try).Lidolas wrote:daibar wrote:While I doubt everyone will be in agreement with all the issues, it seems to be pretty representative of the concerns of the player base.
To be fair, it seems to be representative of the concerns of the forum users, which are only a small % of the player base.0 -
fight4thedream wrote:*With the continued increase in characters, what will be done about current roster slot prices?
*Are there any plans to adjust ISO and HP rewards?
*What adjustments are being considered in regards to Shield Cooldowns and Progression Rewards?
*How do you plan on addressing the problems facing the transition from 2* to 3* and 3* to 4*?
...
2. Basically I am relying heavily on Phaserhawk's poll (viewtopic.php?f=7&t=21992) as being representative of the community.
Your letter is great.
Is there a way to restructure the shield cooldown, progression rewards and transitions? The current shield cooldowns have such a negative impact on the ability of players to play MPQ when they want to play, and progression rewards should be reachable for those in transition, without the old style of shield hopping.
Perhaps something like:
What adjustments are being considered with shield cooldowns to allow flexible play around life, while preventing excessive scoring through shield hopping?
How do you plan on addressing the problems facing the transitions from 2* to 3* and 3* to 4*. including making progression rewards reachable by roster with a * level under the progression reward?
I know those are not as well penned as yours. My main feedback is that the shield cooldowns are hurting those with a life more than preventing shield hopping.
I don't think they will answer a question about progression rewards being reachable by previous tier rosters that need the progression rewards the most. Still, I'd like to see if how the respond to it.0 -
esoxnepa wrote:fight4thedream wrote:*With the continued increase in characters, what will be done about current roster slot prices?
*Are there any plans to adjust ISO and HP rewards?
*What adjustments are being considered in regards to Shield Cooldowns and Progression Rewards?
*How do you plan on addressing the problems facing the transition from 2* to 3* and 3* to 4*?
...
2. Basically I am relying heavily on Phaserhawk's poll (viewtopic.php?f=7&t=21992) as being representative of the community.
Your letter is great.
Is there a way to restructure the shield cooldown, progression rewards and transitions? The current shield cooldowns have such a negative impact on the ability of players to play MPQ when they want to play, and progression rewards should be reachable for those in transition, without the old style of shield hopping.
Perhaps something like:
What adjustments are being considered with shield cooldowns to allow flexible play around life, while preventing excessive scoring through shield hopping?
How do you plan on addressing the problems facing the transitions from 2* to 3* and 3* to 4*. including making progression rewards reachable by roster with a * level under the progression reward?
I know those are not as well penned as yours. My main feedback is that the shield cooldowns are hurting those with a life more than preventing shield hopping.
I don't think they will answer a question about progression rewards being reachable by previous tier rosters that need the progression rewards the most. Still, I'd like to see if how the respond to it.
Really, the 2 star cover should be 200 points, the 3 star at 500, and the 4 star at 7-800.0 -
esoxnepa wrote:Your letter is great.
Is there a way to restructure the shield cooldown, progression rewards and transitions? The current shield cooldowns have such a negative impact on the ability of players to play MPQ when they want to play, and progression rewards should be reachable for those in transition, without the old style of shield hopping.
Perhaps something like:
What adjustments are being considered with shield cooldowns to allow flexible play around life, while preventing excessive scoring through shield hopping?
How do you plan on addressing the problems facing the transitions from 2* to 3* and 3* to 4*. including making progression rewards reachable by roster with a * level under the progression reward?
I know those are not as well penned as yours. My main feedback is that the shield cooldowns are hurting those with a life more than preventing shield hopping.
I don't think they will answer a question about progression rewards being reachable by previous tier rosters that need the progression rewards the most. Still, I'd like to see if how the respond to it.
i will try to fit this point into the letter since it's a valid critique. Thanks for bringing it up!
As to everyone else, thanks for the kind words and encouragement! The devs recently changed the refresh time based on forum feedback so who knows, maybe they will fill us in a bit more on these issues.ﾞ☆⌒o(*^ｰﾟ)v0 -
lol well as i suspected, the devs have started a new thread directed at garnering forum feedback but seeing as there was no opposition to the letter and most of the popular questions are the ones discussed in the letter, i figure i will send it to Hi-Fi and leave it to his discretion as whether to give the letter to the devs and publishe or not. i figure one extra push on the issues can't hurt, no?
esoxnepa: i included your point about the negative impact of shields on player ability to play the game at their own convenience but edited out the comment about shield hopping not being required for progression rewards as i feel that is a debatable point. hope you don't mind.
i will update again if we get any response but thanks to everyone who gave their support and feedback!
Now i can go back to focusing on that Spider-Man buff and non-competitive game modes☆0
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