The Demiurge Players Should Uncloak

tiomono

Phumade said:

Plus if we saw evidence that a dev was tapping,  then we would settle the question of whether tapping is a dev approved tactic.

But we have that confirmation from will that at least he does not like it without knowing exactly what he does in game.

If they want to share that's great. I just do not think they should have to. I see alot of pros and cons both ways.

maguirenumber6

Well, this escalated quickly  From this thread, it is obvious why the devs should remain hidden from view. For their continued enjoyment of playing the game, let alone anything else.

Do they play? I'm certain they do. Are they at the elite level? I'm not sure.

They probably have decent rosters, comparable to most in the 4/5* area, but they don't have the time that some do to devote to playing the game as they're too busy developing it

Phumade

tiomono said:

Phumade said:

Plus if we saw evidence that a dev was tapping,  then we would settle the question of whether tapping is a dev approved tactic.

But we have that confirmation from will that at least he does not like it without knowing exactly what he does in game.

If they want to share that's great. I just do not think they should have to. I see alot of pros and cons both ways.

LOL,  thats a statement from Will,  not his actual activity log or play history.

and while I don't want to make this political.
Need we remind ourselves who the current President of USA is and reflect on whether  its wise to just accept blind statements
LOL.

tiomono

Phumade said:

tiomono said:

Phumade said:

Plus if we saw evidence that a dev was tapping,  then we would settle the question of whether tapping is a dev approved tactic.

But we have that confirmation from will that at least he does not like it without knowing exactly what he does in game.

If they want to share that's great. I just do not think they should have to. I see alot of pros and cons both ways.

LOL,  thats a statement from Will,  not his actual activity log or play history.

and while I don't want to make this political.
Need we remind ourselves who the current President of USA is and reflect on whether  its wise to just accept blind statements
LOL.

Yes that's what I said. So at least one voice in the office does not like tapping. Unless you just want to assume everything they tell us could be a lie so there' no point in them talking to us anyway.

It may be naive but I like to actually believe what people tell me unless I have some other proof to the contrary. In the case of Will not liking tapping if another dev was on here saying it's ok then I would question it. I do not believe the devs would be ok with one or two people speaking on the forums but just spouting lies that do not actually represent the dev teams view.

Phumade

tiomono said:

Phumade said:

tiomono said:

Phumade said:

Plus if we saw evidence that a dev was tapping,  then we would settle the question of whether tapping is a dev approved tactic.

But we have that confirmation from will that at least he does not like it without knowing exactly what he does in game.

If they want to share that's great. I just do not think they should have to. I see alot of pros and cons both ways.

LOL,  thats a statement from Will,  not his actual activity log or play history.

and while I don't want to make this political.
Need we remind ourselves who the current President of USA is and reflect on whether  its wise to just accept blind statements
LOL.

Yes that's what I said. So at least one voice in the office does not like tapping. Unless you just want to assume everything they tell us could be a lie so there' no point in them talking to us anyway.

It may be naive but I like to actually believe what people tell me unless I have some other proof to the contrary. In the case of Will not liking tapping if another dev was on here saying it's ok then I would question it. I do not believe the devs would be ok with one or two people speaking on the forums but just spouting lies that do not actually represent the dev teams view.

Ugh your last sentence is probably the precise reason why people want to know in game name and correlate those actions with past statements.

Are the Devs saying one thing and doing another?

And as the proverb goes.  Actions speak louder than words.  I'm pretty sure I understand what they have said about their design goals and intents.  now I'm curious about whether their in game actions are consistent with those stated goals and actions plans. 

Daredevil217

Phumade said:

tiomono said:

Phumade said:

tiomono said:

Phumade said:

Plus if we saw evidence that a dev was tapping,  then we would settle the question of whether tapping is a dev approved tactic.

But we have that confirmation from will that at least he does not like it without knowing exactly what he does in game.

If they want to share that's great. I just do not think they should have to. I see alot of pros and cons both ways.

LOL,  thats a statement from Will,  not his actual activity log or play history.

and while I don't want to make this political.
Need we remind ourselves who the current President of USA is and reflect on whether  its wise to just accept blind statements
LOL.

Yes that's what I said. So at least one voice in the office does not like tapping. Unless you just want to assume everything they tell us could be a lie so there' no point in them talking to us anyway.

It may be naive but I like to actually believe what people tell me unless I have some other proof to the contrary. In the case of Will not liking tapping if another dev was on here saying it's ok then I would question it. I do not believe the devs would be ok with one or two people speaking on the forums but just spouting lies that do not actually represent the dev teams view.

Ugh your last sentence is probably the precise reason why people want to know in game name and correlate those actions with past statements.

Are the Devs saying one thing and doing another?

And as the proverb goes.  Actions speak louder than words.  I'm pretty sure I understand what they have said about their design goals and intents.  now I'm curious about whether their in game actions are consistent with those stated goals and actions plans. 

And you in turn show me precisely why they shouldn’t. If a developer who plays the game in their free time chooses to tap it does not mean that they speak for the entire team. There are plenty of players who hate tapping and want to see it go away but do it. Maybe developer X feels the same way. And before you say well developer X could change it if he wants, they have to dedicate time and resources to whatever the bosses tell them (supports, push infinity war, etc.) and have to go through the proper protocols (testing, analysis, etc.). Heck, a developer tapping could be part of their testing for all we know. 

Actions don’t always speak louder than words, especially when you have no idea what the intention is behind said actions. In your previous post you mention that if a developer plays Star-Lord, it might mean something to you and maybe you’d give him a second look, when maybe that developer is just a fan of the character?  You mentioned that maybe you could glean information into future plans (like an airborne specialist in the 5* tier) by tracking how developers play the game. I wouldn’t want people taking my actions out of context or reading more into it than is there. And while I know I don’t have the power to stop people from choosing their own narratives, I wouldn’t want to feed it either, and giving the information people are asking for would do just that. 

Phumade

Daredevil217 said:

Phumade said:

tiomono said:

Phumade said:

tiomono said:

Phumade said:

Plus if we saw evidence that a dev was tapping,  then we would settle the question of whether tapping is a dev approved tactic.

But we have that confirmation from will that at least he does not like it without knowing exactly what he does in game.

If they want to share that's great. I just do not think they should have to. I see alot of pros and cons both ways.

LOL,  thats a statement from Will,  not his actual activity log or play history.

and while I don't want to make this political.
Need we remind ourselves who the current President of USA is and reflect on whether  its wise to just accept blind statements
LOL.

Yes that's what I said. So at least one voice in the office does not like tapping. Unless you just want to assume everything they tell us could be a lie so there' no point in them talking to us anyway.

It may be naive but I like to actually believe what people tell me unless I have some other proof to the contrary. In the case of Will not liking tapping if another dev was on here saying it's ok then I would question it. I do not believe the devs would be ok with one or two people speaking on the forums but just spouting lies that do not actually represent the dev teams view.

Ugh your last sentence is probably the precise reason why people want to know in game name and correlate those actions with past statements.

Are the Devs saying one thing and doing another?

And as the proverb goes.  Actions speak louder than words.  I'm pretty sure I understand what they have said about their design goals and intents.  now I'm curious about whether their in game actions are consistent with those stated goals and actions plans. 

And you in turn show me precisely why they shouldn’t. If a developer who plays the game in their free time chooses to tap it does not mean that they speak for the entire team. There are plenty of players who hate tapping and want to see it go away but do it. Maybe developer X feels the same way. And before you say well developer X could change it if he wants, they have to dedicate time and resources to whatever the bosses tell them (supports, push infinity war, etc.) and have to go through the proper protocols (testing, analysis, etc.). Heck, a developer tapping could be part of their testing for all we know. 

Actions don’t always speak louder than words, especially when you have no idea what the intention is behind said actions. In your previous post you mention that if a developer plays Star-Lord, it might mean something to you and maybe you’d give him a second look, when maybe that developer is just a fan of the character?  You mentioned that maybe you could glean information into future plans (like an airborne specialist in the 5* tier) by tracking how developers play the game. I wouldn’t want people taking my actions out of context or reading more into it than is there. And while I know I don’t have the power to stop people from choosing their own narratives, I wouldn’t want to feed it either, and giving the information people are asking for would do just that. 

LOL 

You actually explain why more transparency is better than less.

If he's a fan of star lord, shouldn't he have to mention that bias in a general article meant to inform?  (I know most journalist would say full disclosure)  Knowing that he's a fan of star lord tells me I can safely ignore his star lord recommendation at first glance.

You keep mentioning how you wouldn't want people misunderstanding your actions out of context.  But the truth is is not about your feelings or even the developer's feelings.

Its about "Can we take the developer's words as a reliable guideline?"

Do prior results indicate consistency between past statements and past actions?

You want the forum to give the devs the benefit of the doubt?

Then demonstrate that their actions are actually consistent with their words and practices.  I know of no simpler way to establish truthfulness and trust?

tiomono

Are we really this suspicious and untrusting? If so I imagine even if they give In game names people will still accuse them of having secret accounts where they exploit and cheat.

If you are that distrustful of them there is literally nothing they can do to reassure you.

Colognoisseur

If I have had an issue with the Demiurge team it is not that I do not believe them. It is that they do not choose to communicate. Which i why I am asking for some communication on how they define Expert Player.

As I've read the other responses and considered the phrase myself it is kind of squishy.

Do I think I'm an Expert Player? You bet I do.

Is Daredevil 217 an Expert Player? He plays the game at his desired level to get the most out of it. That also sounds Expert to me. 

Is my roster and Daredevil217's roster very different? I'm pretty sure it is.

So we're both Expert Players. The Demiurge team is also probably in the same category getting the most out of what they have in the time they have to play. If they do that then yes I'd have to agree they are Expert Players.

I still feel there is a disconnect between those at Demiurge and the t50 alliance community. I have been asking for this because I'd like to feel that when they are making a decision that the perspective of the competitive player is being considered. Ever since Ice IX left I have felt that has been missing. Even though he was D3 and not Demiurge he was able to communicate what was going on back to the Demiurge team from a t50 alliance POV.

The reason I think this is important is because of the answers Will has been giving in the Q&A thread. With the added explanation even if it is something I don't agree with it is clear that it was fully discussed. I won't criticize anything that comes out of those threads because of that. One of the most illuminating answers Will gave was on the change to 1* spider-man that web tiles were confusing to beginning players. I hadn't considered that. It is their business to do so and they made a change which benefited new players.

It is obvious the request for more Expert Player information is a bridge too far. I will trust that their Expert Players provide them the input that encompasses my experience. As long as they keep talking I will be happy with that.

Daredevil217

Phumade said:

If he's a fan of star lord, shouldn't he have to mention that bias in a general article meant to inform? 

No. He shouldn’t have to justify the use of each character he chooses to play to me or anyone else. Whether he likes the character, is testing for the game, thinks they are meta or whatever, explaining each decision they make on their own personal time (as to not allow conspiracies to run rampant) is a waste of their time IMO.  I’d rather they do some character buffs!

 (I know most journalist would say full disclosure)  Knowing that he's a fan of star lord tells me I can safely ignore his star lord recommendation at first glance.

But ironically you’d have to trust their word... which you seem to be struggling with. 

You keep mentioning how you wouldn't want people misunderstanding your actions out of context.  But the truth is is not about your feelings or even the developer's feelings.

Its about "Can we take the developer's words as a reliable guideline?"

Some things I do. Some things I don’t. I do believe that OML’s nerf was in part due to health packs. I do think ending vaulting was in part because people were covering characters too fast. I think there’s a lot they don’t say or want us to know and they pick and choose what to share. I’m ultimately okay with that because they are a business and have to protect their bottom line.  Plus it doesn’t effect my enjoyment of the game. 

Do prior results indicate consistency between past statements and past actions?

You want the forum to give the devs the benefit of the doubt?

Then demonstrate that their actions are actually consistent with their words and practices.  I know of no simpler way to establish truthfulness and trust?

Isn’t the onus on you to find instances where they have been untruthful and untrustworthy?  Or are they guilty until proven innocent?

This reminds me of the jealous partner who says, “if you have nothing to hide then you’d let me read all your emails, see your call logs: and see all your Facebook messages.  Oh, and then the onus is on you to explain each one. Then I’ll trust you even though you’ve not given me a reason not to.   

Michaelcles

I wonder if the devs even read this discussion.

I wonder if there is a policy about them playing.

I wonder if they can even comment on such things.

Phumade

Daredevil217 said:

Phumade said:

If he's a fan of star lord, shouldn't he have to mention that bias in a general article meant to inform? 

No. He shouldn’t have to justify the use of each character he chooses to play to me or anyone else. Whether he likes the character, is testing for the game, thinks they are meta or whatever, explaining each decision they make on their own personal time (as to not allow conspiracies to run rampant) is a waste of their time IMO.  I’d rather they do some character buffs!

 (I know most journalist would say full disclosure)  Knowing that he's a fan of star lord tells me I can safely ignore his star lord recommendation at first glance.

But ironically you’d have to trust their word... which you seem to be struggling with. 

You keep mentioning how you wouldn't want people misunderstanding your actions out of context.  But the truth is is not about your feelings or even the developer's feelings.

Its about "Can we take the developer's words as a reliable guideline?"

Some things I do. Some things I don’t. I do believe that OML’s nerf was in part due to health packs. I do think ending vaulting was in part because people were covering characters too fast. I think there’s a lot they don’t say or want us to know and they pick and choose what to share. I’m ultimately okay with that because they are a business and have to protect their bottom line.  Plus it doesn’t effect my enjoyment of the game. 

Do prior results indicate consistency between past statements and past actions?

You want the forum to give the devs the benefit of the doubt?

Then demonstrate that their actions are actually consistent with their words and practices.  I know of no simpler way to establish truthfulness and trust?

Isn’t the onus on you to find instances where they have been untruthful and untrustworthy?  Or are they guilty until proven innocent?

This reminds me of the jealous partner who says, “if you have nothing to hide then you’d let me read all your emails, see your call logs: and see all your Facebook messages.  Oh, and then the onus is on you to explain each one. Then I’ll trust you even though you’ve not given me a reason not to.   

LOL

You believe them on some things and not on others?  Is it so much to ask that they be believable on all things?

and honestly if you been playing this game 1000+ days,  I can surely bring up plenty of examples of untruthful or untrustworthy behavior.

Beginning with Account break down and character merges.

LOL
So trust me that every forum player over 1000+ days takes every pronouncment with a huge grain of salt and skepticism.

I get that the core of your argument lays in reasonableness, common sense, blah blah blah.  But the truth is 

Why should the avg player have to have the knowledge and experience of a expert player with first hand history in the game since beta days to parse and understand the developer's intent?

Shouldn't devs statements be clear obvious and verifiable?   You want to associate some sort of sinister intent.  But really this is the trend that customers want.  I dont think its out of bounds at all.

HoundofShadow

@Colognoisseur What kind of disconnect are you feeling between those at Demiurge and the t50 alliance community? Have you actually spoken with most, if not all, members of all 50 alliances in T50 to reach this conclusion?

I personally think that using only placements, rosters levels, characters to determine whether the developers are expert players are quite superficial and are a narrow way of looking at things. How do we get top placements in the game? Two core factors: Speed and characters used in general.

In the context of PvE without tappers, it means a few things:

1) your schedule fits in perfectly with 1 of the 5 given slices. If not, you wait for a new bracket to flip (outside information). 

2) you are using a few specific characters that can defeat teams quickly: 5* Thanos, half-health Thor, America Chavez, R4G etc. 

3) you are doing optimal clear for placements:4+3 or (24 hrs) 4+1+3 (48 hrs).

4) you have all the essential characters.

Give any players in 3* land (at least) all these 
"fast" characters and provided that they meet the above 4 criteria, I'm confident that top placements can be easily achieved. Does this really mean that they are expert players? I don't think so. How many players in top placement(s) bother to use unpopular characters like Invisible Woman, Drax, Winter Soldier, Sandman, BSSM, 5* Starlord etc frequently? Of course, I'm sure someone would said that the developers caused them not to use these characters because the developers "deliberately" create a game that revolves around speed. 

In the context of (high level) PvP:

1) Shielding and hopping.

2) Outside communication to set up agreement not to hit one another.

3) Using outside communications to jack up points in PvP.

4) Designate snipers to prevent other players from climbing up PvP.

5) Observation. 

6) Characters used (depends).

In 5* land, the current variation is quite limited. 

For high level PvP, a number of players use outside communication to get top placements. Again, does that make them expert players? I don't think so. It looks more like a handicap against other players who don't use outside communication. 

Lastly, I thought everyone is presumed to be innocent until proved guilty under Universal Human Rights... And here we have some players reversing the rule for the developers: guilty until proven innocent. If you have such difficulty trusting the developers, what's the point of asking the developers to prove to you? For those who have real-life experiences dealing with oversuspicious people, you would know that it's quite difficult to deal with them. Why? Proving that you are innocent just once isn't enough. You have to prove to them that you are innocent forever. I can sense that some players are quite bitter against the developers, probably the developers didn't take up their expert suggestions on improving MPQ.

Colognoisseur

@HoundofShadow
I am genuinely curious what would you define as an Expert Player.

purplemur

 ? What is an "Expert" player? Whatever the governing body of the sport game determines them to be. They makes the rules and haz all the marbles. They have expert accountants, draftsmen,coders, lawyers too. They are not asking the accountant's niece who her favorite player is. I am sure they would have criteria if they ever asked for "expert" players from the forum to be on a review board. Management decisions, publisher deadlines, marketing shifts might not reflect the understanding that the devs(extension "expert" players) have of their game. It may certainly look like they are out of touch but maybe they were told that they need to finish Supports before the Infinity Gauntlet tie-in so they haven't been able to make the changes that THEY would prioritize to gambit,tapping, etc. I disagree with the idea that players need to decloak so we can prove they know what they are doing but I don't think that's the goal.

 + I understand how reading that they have "expert" players on staff rang caution bells in some players minds. Does that mean top placement players? have players been losing out T5 due to dev tapping? Wanting to prevent that does not make them bad people or paranoid either; knowing everything is on the up and up is a laudable goal. Asking for transparency is not the same as distrust. What some players are asking for is that the employees & partners of the makers of the game be visible as such and that they have their own user agreement that outlines how they are to interact with the game(no tapping). As was previously pointed out, this happens in other games and other industries.
 * Innocent until proven guilty is a standard for criminal justice with the qualifier of beyond a reasonable doubt. Civil courts use the preponderance of the evidence- So if the person bringing suit gave probable evidence, that it is more likely than not. Public opinion and customer satisfaction for a consumer product? There is no standard. Optics is everything. If it looks shady, lowest common denominator will assume it is.

 + If you are not tapping, competitive placement requires being meta wise using outside communication channels, marvel articles, and the announcements on here. The interest in the "expert players" isn't to nitpick, or tear them down and play gotcha! but it's to try and gain insight and keep abreast of the state of the game. If I saw that they kept a copy of Beast maxxchamped I would definitely take another look. If I saw that Riri was spec'd at 4/4/5 I would add to the airborne conspiracy folder and maybe not wait til AA is out of latest. Information is power.

 - The prevailing argument against uncloaking seems to be based on that some want to protect the devs from the playerbase. That view of the players and the devs capacity to dialouge is small minded and mean spirited. Like sarcasm and snarky zingers = 2149 exposure. If everything about this place is nasty; gotta look to the Chairpersons for creating it and the mods for allowing it. Which is quickly disproved as patently false. The mods DO remove the blatant attacks and obvious spam(see above), and the content IS helpful, intelligent and presented in a friendly manner. I don't think there is an active Chairperson of the Boards who wouldn't go out of their way to help if someone asked. So if it's predicted that open communication between devs and players is going to devolve into name calling,eye gouging terribleness that is all about a twisted view on reality and not based on actual previous interactions. Did Demiwill say they stopped doing the live Q&A because their feelings were hurt or logistical support issues? Are people engaged and positive on the Q's with Will thread or are they just trolls posting insults? 
 + There is more positive interaction to case study in the forum archives than pessimist stereotypes about internet content. 

 - There is also privacy. Should the accountant/receptionist/maint tech who play the game be doxxed? Whom does the uncloaking apply to? only those that have developmental contact? Is someone on the art team who doesn't have a say on which animation they chose but plays the game a lot need to be uncloaked? Do we ask for only the "expert" players? What if the accountant has been there for years, been playing the game from the beginning and occasionally answers some questions and sits in on a meeting every once in a while is an "expert" player? Even if like the forum, their opinion ultimately didn't matter. Why do they need to be outed? 

 - The other argument against uncloaking is a cost vs reward. This is why I believe devs shouldn't uncloak. I remember when a season update would be some store buttons and HfH queue straightening. I don't want to lose a season for them to make devs names green and stand out or whatever. I think it just won't yield all that much useful information, or positively change gameplay. 

Phumade

LOL 

if it really is about dev privacy/ and or griefing.  just give them new "green accounts" with stock champions or stock 400, whatever?  We won't know their past history,  but we can easily track how those accounts are used and played/grow?


players with the experience to interpret play will have the reference points to make their own decisions.

Devs can get real live feedback on how players value specific combos and or chars.?

PR. can make all the Puffery they want.  They have real live examples that can be tracked and cross referenced.

HoundofShadow

My opinion is that generally speaking, an expert player is someone who - given any character - could exploit the full potential of that character and/or hide that character's weakness(es) or turn that weakness(es) into strength(s) in a team of two or three, and able to maximize that character's potential in various teams, regardless of their power ranking or * level. By hiding, I don't necessary mean hiding in the sense of pairing 1* Spiderman with 2 5* in such a way that 1* Spiderman doesn't have to match tiles. This type of "hiding" strategy is easily understandable by most players and considered elementary.

The reasons why I said character levels, rosters and placements, whether individual or alliance, are not a good indicator of whether an individual is an expert or not are as followed:

First of all, let's limit it to top players (4*/5*) and let's start with the context of PvE.

In PvE, if your goal is to get top placement, the questions you asked would be:

1) How do I get top placement for each sub and the overall PvE? By scoring as many points as possible.

2) How do I score as many points as possible? Firstly, my schedule have to fit in the given slices. If not, I have to wait for brackets to flip. Secondly, I have to play the required number of clears for top placement. Thirdly, I have to use characters that can defeat opponent team quickly, so that the 4th node can regenerate as many points as possible. Lastly, finish all the last 3 or 4 nodes as late  possible.

3) What characters can I use to clear the nodes quickly?
By using characters who can deal the most damage or gain aps quickly so that you can fire powers faster. Typically R4G, America Chavez, half-life Thor, 5* Thanos, 5* Gambit etc... 

Now, let's use a hypothetical scenario:

200 players begin each sub simultaneously in the same time slice and bracket. They have the same typical fast PvE nodes clearing team lineup with the same power/colours distribution and same level, with the variable being the board. The end result is all 200 players are in top 200 placement at the end of each sub and PvE.

The question is, should the player in the 200th position be considered an expert player as well or should we consider only players in the top 5 or top 10 placement expert players?

If the players in top 50 position used the typical fast clear team  for the 2nd PvE but their levels are 50 to 100 lower than the rest of 150 players, it's highly probable that they would end up in position 151 to 2XX.

Question: Do character levels determine whether a player is an expert player? Character level basically means the higher the level, the more damage your power and match damage would be, apart from the obvious difference between champed and non-champed. 

Rosters are more or less dependable on RNG. Start a poll and ask who is your first champed 4* or 5*. Chances are, you'll see a variety of answers.

Let's consider a situation where a player whose roster consists of top tier champed 4*/5* and another player whose roster is filled with bottom tier 4*/5*. Do the characters rostered really determine whether a player is an expert, considering that the composition of a player's roster is also highly dependent on RNG, especially in 4* and 5* land?

If we put all these three factors (placement, character levels and rosters) together, do these factors really determine whether someone is an expert player? It depends. If your definition of expert/high level player means dealing out as high damage as possible in the quickest time possible in any PvE, either by matching or using high damage power, then that would at most make you an expert at choosing and using the fastest clearing team for PvE. If I were to ask you to use Kraven, Drax, Invisible Woman, BSSM, Dr Ock, Banner etc, basically bottom tier characters to clear the nodes and you couldn't hit top 50 placement, does that make you less of an expert player?

The reason why developers shouldn't reveal their IGN/characters/placements/levels are simply because they can't control how other players interpret their answers and they can't stop players from continuing their conspiracy theories. For every clarification they made to their answer, another group of players will, intentionally or not, misintepret their answers and start a new round of doubts. If the developers stop answering at any point of time, that group of players would declare victory and continue to use that to strengthen their conspiracy theories. It's a hole that the developers can never get out. 

Based on the replies in this thread alone, I can see how the conversation are going to be. Let's assume that developers answered that they placed top 1 or top 5 in PvE, there are at least two ways players are going to interpret their answers:

1) some are convinced that developers know how to get top placement; therefore, making them an expert.   

2) some would think that developers got top placements due to unfair advantage either by "tapping" or any other reasons these group of players can think of, or the developers got top placements so that they can prevent other players from getting top placement. 

I'm not making no. 2 up because you can see it for yourself. For each question that the developers answer, one group of players would be satisfied by their answers and another group of players would continue to cast doubt on the developers' answer.

The question is, given the many ways each player can interpret each answer, at the end of the day,  to what extent do the developers have to prove to players that they are credible, trustworthy or in touch with the top players on the ground?

Do the developers have to live-stream what they do in office every day, report to the players what their schedule are six months or one year in advance,  invite players to sit beside them while they are working or invite players for each meeting they have to attend?  

Phumade

HoundofShadow said:

Do the developers have to live-stream what they do in office every day, report to the players what their schedule are six months or one year in advance,  invite players to sit beside them while they are working or invite players for each meeting they have to attend?  

Its actually not that controversial.  There are lots of developers that blog about their projects.  anyone could actually finger John Carmak's profile at Id Software to find out what they were working developing for quake etc...

Its actually quite refreshing to see a design go from drawing board to final implementation.  It really did build anticipation and excitement for releases.  especially as developers hit milestones.

HoundofShadow

"There are lots of developers that blog about their projects."

Context is needed. What do you mean by "their projects"? That statement is too ambiguous/vague, and actually doesn't help build your argument. 

"anyone could actually finger John Carmak's profile at Id Software to find out what they were working developing for quake etc..."

John Carmack co-founded id Software. As the co-founder, he is a key decision maker and he's well known and influential. Are the developers of MPQ the founder of Marvel/Disney? Can they make decisions on behalf of Marvel? 

Michaelcles

All of the long posts are missing the point.

It is unfair to compete against folks with insider information.

Everyone that has ever placed lower in an event because of this has a legitimate gripe, and D3 doesn’t treat their paying customers fairly.