This moves you from genially clueless to something less so

Colognoisseur

Dear Will,

Since you asked me to make sure I directed my criticism to you I'm taking you up on that.

Until about an hour ago while I disagreed with some of your decisions I've always thought they came from a place of benign cluelessness.
We were all learning together how to make MPQ a great game which would last for a long time.

It has taken me an hour to gather myself to change my mind. You guys are just coming off as greedy jerks who seem to be performing an experiment on how much you can stress your players. You come off as completely contemptuous for the effort everyone just put in on a sprint for a new character to follow it right up with a 4* week long marathon. I would love to hear an explanation on how you see this kind of thing is healthy for your game.
All I see is a group of people who are asking their players to grind away over Easter/Passover weekend for a highly desired character that could have and should have been put off for a week.
I no longer see you all in a positive light. You're just interested in your bottom line and don't give a damn about your players except for how much money we can make you.

Congratulations, Will.

Unknown

Dear Will,

Thank you for this upcoming event, i'm looking forward to having new content to strive for over this next week, and appreciate the challenge. I also know how to manage my own time and resources and don't feel the need to lash out at the developers of this game.

Keep up the great work!

Mawtful

This too shall pass.

SnowcaTT

Mawtful wrote:

This too shall pass.

The existence of the game? Yeah, quickly if this kind of thing keeps happening.

The passionate userbase is here giving helpful suggestions. Not all of them have to be acted upon. Not all of them have to be acknowledged. But to simply ignore nearly every helpful suggestion, and indeed go in a manner contradicting these suggestions quite often....

I cannot agree with the OP more. The first thing I thought of when I saw this back-to-back character was incredible greed, trying to push out as many characters as possible as quickly as possible, with the best chance to get them (after a week long grind) being to pay to increase the last one you just grinded for.

This release pace cannot be good for the game, either characters in general or 4* characters in specific. I'm wondering if D3 is trying to get their money while the getting is good, because it sounds like many players are preparing to get out.

Unknown

Been playing since near day one, not planning to get out, and not upset about more releases. I hope we get another one next week!

I wish people would stop trying to blame the game for their own inability to handle their affairs. No one is forcing you to play but yourself! I'm still having a blast and enjoying the game, and that's not changing for me anytime soon.

Mawtful

SnowcaTT wrote:

Mawtful wrote:

This too shall pass.

The existence of the game? Yeah, quickly if this kind of thing keeps happening.

Maybe. Albert Reed, the CEO and co-founder of demiurge, once mentioned that the mantra "this too shall pass" was one of the company's core philosophies. People will get upset at change, but sooner or later, they'll stop complaining about it - either they'll shut up and deal with it, or move on, and it seems that demiurge doesn't really care which one you choose, just so long as you stop making a noise about it. In fact, if you're not spending money then they'd really rather that you just quit - it'll be easier for everyone that way.

SnowcaTT

Mawtful wrote:

SnowcaTT wrote:

Mawtful wrote:

This too shall pass.

The existence of the game? Yeah, quickly if this kind of thing keeps happening.

Maybe. Albert Reed, the CEO and co-founder of demiurge, once mentioned that the mantra "this too shall pass" was one of the company's core philosophies. People will get upset at change, but sooner or later, they'll stop complaining about it - either they'll shut up and deal with it, or move on, and it seems that demiurge doesn't really care which one you choose, just so long as you stop making a noise about it. In fact, if you're not spending money then they'd really rather that you just quit - it'll be easier for everyone that way.

The problem is the OP is (was?) one of the known whales. And several other whales have come in with giant complaints about game direction lately, and how they won't pay again. They must be getting whales as quick as they are losing them (somehow), I guess.

Dauthi

I like being a competitive player, but I shouldn't have to be put through an unfun grind fest marathon to stay one.

I usually try to stay neutral about their decisions, but there isn't any reason this should have happened.

This is really, really messed up.

Tannen

Having just come back from a break I notice that there's a ... false dichotomy in how people are reacting to new characters.

When I was playing before I distinctly remember going a month+ without any new characters, people complaining that whichever pvp/pve was being run, was being run again with the same character (pun pun) and that they'd leave for greener pastures unless some new characters were released.

Now we appear to be on the complete flip side of that, where characters are being released far more regularly but we have people complaining that it's a cash grab and now people are going to leave for greener pastures unless the character release schedule is slowed down.

Heh. Carry on good people, carry on. I don't really have anything to add to the conversation other than that observation and that personally I'm kinda liking the new release schedule myself, but that's because of what I remember from the past and I guess because I'm not (currently) pushing that hard for all 3 covers on every new release.

Cheers.

Pylgrim

This feels so pointless now. The thread where we begged them to change the reward scheme for 4* characters in PVe reached over 200 upvotes and was NEVER addressed. Then they go and add to that insult the injury of doing it back to back another new character event. They had to know that this was a bad thing to do and yet they went ahead and did it. Whatever their "numbers" tell them about profit to be gained from doing it far outweighs players' well being, then and they have made their decision.

dkffiv

Tannen wrote:

Having just come back from a break I notice that there's a ... false dichotomy in how people are reacting to new characters.

When I was playing before I distinctly remember going a month+ without any new characters, people complaining that whichever pvp/pve was being run, was being run again with the same character (pun pun) and that they'd leave for greener pastures unless some new characters were released.

Now we appear to be on the complete flip side of that, where characters are being released far more regularly but we have people complaining that it's a cash grab and now people are going to leave for greener pastures unless the character release schedule is slowed down.

Heh. Carry on good people, carry on. I don't really have anything to add to the conversation other than that observation and that personally I'm kinda liking the new release schedule myself, but that's because of what I remember from the past and I guess because I'm not (currently) pushing that hard for all 3 covers on every new release.

Cheers.

I've never complained and have always been for a slower release schedule. That said I remember selling 3* IM40 covers like crazy when the game first came out (and I don't remember placing that highly). I didn't partake in Lightning Rounds because I relied on the phone clock fast forward healing trick but I could see people maxing out covers for their characters very quickly like that (I didn't finish my cmags until a month or so before his nerf because he was never featured outside LRs).

The age of the game greatly affects this. Back then there weren't many characters and people were looking for new teams. Now there's a crapload of characters and people want to actually cover the ones they like. Getting covers is a pain and getting the ISO to level them is even worse.

danae

I fail to see how the devs are being greedy and just "interested in their bottom line" by releasing a 4* right after a new 3* character release. In my opinion, they would be smarter if they did wait for a week so that whales such as the OP will have some time to rest and be willing to spend money to max the new character right after the event finishes. These back to back releases for desirable characters will just burn out players faster which in the end might make them lose out on potential revenue.

To me, this back to back release is more like a disregard for healthy gaming for the playerbase. I've played games that remind you to take a break after playing continuously for a certain amount of time. This is not one of those games and it's really up to the players to manage how much this game controls their lives.

puppychow

Considering that many players will observe Easter Sunday and participate in related offline events, it's going to be interesting to see how much participation there will be for this event. Since Wilson Fisk is a 4 star character, the cover will be limited to top 50 individual reward, which is really, really hard to do. I suspect many players will simply give up pushing for a cover, and if they bother to play it will be strictly for iso/rewards.

Unknown

I participate in offline events every day, and yet I still manage. It's called a job, a family, etc.

Again, some will be celebrating Easter this weekend. Some will not. Some may be working this week. Some may not. It's up to you to manage your own playtime, it's not up to D3P to schedule around your life.

Kiamodo

taloncarde wrote:

Been playing since near day one, not planning to get out, and not upset about more releases. I hope we get another one next week!

I wish people would stop trying to blame the game for their own inability to handle their affairs. No one is forcing you to play but yourself! I'm still having a blast and enjoying the game, and that's not changing for me anytime soon.

While you may not be upset that doesn't make their current strategy make any more sense. Been playing since day one eh? Then surely you remember the initial release of 4hor over Thanksgiving. The demands of a PVE are much greater than many other game modes in any game period. Stress + time crunch + family orientated holiday does not make for a healthy game culture.

Unknown

Unknown

It didn't affect me, because the time I spent playing would not have changed regardless of what character was released (I'm on day 508 so it wasn't quite day 1). I don't stress out about this game.

If it's thanksgiving, and 4*Thor is up for grabs, or not, i'd still play when I have free time either way. It makes me sad seeing all these people talking about being stressed and fatigued about a game.

And guess what, I didn't get a 4*Thor for several months. I lived to tell the tale.

GothicKratos

I have mad respect for you, you do a lot for the game, even beyond financial support, as some of your posts are literally the most informative posts on the forums, but man, this screams "entitlement" to me.

I wanna know what competitive scene just plops to a stop for the holiday? Let alone a game's (especially a mobile game's) content cycle. At most, I feel like maybe we can just give them a light jabbing for now having a "holiday event" like a lot of other mobile games, but it you ask me, that's infinitely more evil, because they bait you into it with shiny "Easter only content!" et al.

Yes, he's a new 4*. Yes, 4*s are hard to cover. You know what though? They're not going anywhere. Either you were going to grind the Hell out or PvE (to let him sit or sink a bunch of HP into it to max it), smash the PvP to get it (and let it sit or use HP to max it), a combination of the former (to let them sit or throw HP at it to max it), or you weren't going to try very hard at all. Chances are, for most of us, he's gunna just sit there and take forever to cover either way.

Suck it up and go be with your family and don't have your pretty 3 covers, or don't be with your family to pet your 3 covers and live with that choice (or maybe just maybe find some balance in there with the awesome 'new' refresh timers). There is no ethical debacle here - there is a human choice. They have a release cycle. We know how it rolls. Nothing says you need every character. Nobody promised you real life wouldn't inconvenience your game.

I guess my point is that I'm so utterly confused - how is MPQ so important that you're literally outraged that you might miss a single character? And ultimately, this is a public question and not directly pointedly at you.

Unknown

There are many players stating that it's somehow up to individuals to take the occasional break or that they are putting pressure on themselves. To a point I agree and at its absolute I also agree but in the middle there somewhere is a social pressure to perform. When one is in a consistent top 50 alliance and all of them not personal friends, there is a real pressure to hold up your end for the alliance or in some (maybe most cases) it's time to find a new home. Worse yet they ARE personal friends and though they may not boot you, you have let them down.

The only ways to be responsible here are to find someone to temporarily take your place ahead of time, find someone willing to step in at the end and hope they don't outperform you by a great deal, or scheduling a vacation and finding someone anyway. Simply saying that the player is responsible for the constant and undue pressure isn't thinking the statement all the way through.

NighteyesGrisu

GothicKratos wrote:

I have mad respect for you, you do a lot for the game, even beyond financial support, as some of your posts are literally the most informative posts on the forums, but man, this screams "entitlement" to me.

I wanna know what competitive scene just plops to a stop for the holiday? Let alone a game's (especially a mobile game's) content cycle. At most, I feel like maybe we can just give them a light jabbing for now having a "holiday event" like a lot of other mobile games, but it you ask me, that's infinitely more evil, because they bait you into it with shiny "Easter only content!" et al.

Yes, he's a new 4*. Yes, 4*s are hard to cover. You know what though? They're not going anywhere. Either you were going to grind the Hell out or PvE (to let him sit or sink a bunch of HP into it to max it), smash the PvP to get it (and let it sit or use HP to max it), a combination of the former (to let them sit or throw HP at it to max it), or you weren't going to try very hard at all. Chances are, for most of us, he's gunna just sit there and take forever to cover either way.

Suck it up and go be with your family and don't have your pretty 3 covers, or don't be with your family to pet your 3 covers and live with that choice (or maybe just maybe find some balance in there with the awesome 'new' refresh timers). There is no ethical debacle here - there is a human choice. They have a release cycle. We know how it rolls. Nothing says you need every character. Nobody promised you real life wouldn't inconvenience your game.

I guess my point is that I'm so utterly confused - how is MPQ so important that you're literally outraged that you might miss a single character? And ultimately, this is a public question and not directly pointedly at you.

100% agree. I do agree with part of his points, mainily that it's bad for such a competitive event to run over easter (actually, I think top 50 events are bad to begin with, holiday weekend or not), but I really can't feel into the rage and contempt he puts in his post. Missing a character isn't the end of the world. Happened to me with electra and almost with xavier and will almost definately happen again with kingpin. There will be other chances to win him. It's not like you have to buy a character if you fail to win him in his introducing event.

Kiamodo

Kratos you know as well as anyone that it's not just this pve event. Ole Wilson Fisk will be boosted for another event pretty soon after so you are slowing yourself down for future events. Everyone who is saying that it's your choice to play you are completely correct. But it does make me think of a teacher that assigns her students homework over spring break. Sure you don't have to do it. Just if you want to do well later. And forget about enjoying what for a majority of people is time off.