Proposition: Zen vs. Norfleet

Originally posted by Arryn:
So far, IW does not appear to have gone hog-wild with the same sort of nerfing as I experienced in those games (which is the reason I quit SWG), but the trend that I'm seeing is disturbing. I'm a firm believer in the "if it ain't broke don't fix it" philosophy, and several of the nerfs from 2.08 onwards fall into the "we jacked with it because we felt like it" Category, rather than because there was any pressing need to fix some problem being reported by a majority of players. There are real, serious, longstanding bugs in Dom2 that have yet to be fixed while IW devotes its attention to silencing the whining of a very vocal and tiny percentage of its customers, many of which are grossly challenged in the strategic-thinking department and should go back to playing the mindless twitch games that they're suited for.

Cross Platform Compatibility and Adjustable Battle speed do not fall into the fix Category then? Or the fact that most of the things that are 'fixed' were discussed before the game was released as something that should/could/would be fixed in the future? (Elemental Armor being one of them)

If a game is less fun after a patch than before, then that patch's nerfs are counterproductive. E&B and SWG (especially SWG) failed that test miserably. After all, people play games to have fun, and not to just fatten the bank accounts of the companies running the games. So far, I cannot say that about Dom 2, but as I said, the trend is disturbing.

It's always going to be less fun for those who never had an issue before a change. Some people have fun playing with sticks, so when people start playing with paintguns suddenly it's 'no fun' to them and they feel 'wronged'. It's a perception issue. The current trend of fixing things that need to be fixed (I.E. Themes, bugs, inconsistancies and in part, balance).

If Clams and Castles were nerfed I might feel the same way, but as it stands now, all I see are people who were burned by games in the past pushing those feelings on a game that hasn't. Negative perception will always be just that. If this was Atari or Troika, you could have a track record of keeping things broke, shipping out unfinished product just for the cash, then leaving it virtually unsupported and without communication.

I personally very little faith in developers (in general) on a released product because of disregarding mentality. But once a developer shows me they do commit to the things they promise I am okay with their effort and willing to cut them a little slack. Others may not feel that way, they may feel that their 49.95 or 64.95 or 39.95 entitles them to make business decisions for a design team and the game they purchased and got their money's worth out of demands to be fixed on their terms or not fixed as the case may be. I just happen to not be in that particular Category.

[ June 24, 2004, 15:30: Message edited by: Zen ]