So when is the next update? Tomorrow!

Chill out guys, go re-watch Game of Thrones or something. Complaining over and over about not getting a cookie isn't going to change the fact you don't have a cookie..

 

@ Developers

1. THANK YOU! This is a very well-made game. Action, variety, balance, competition... it's all very well done. Again -- THANK YOU!

2. Being in software development, I know that creating & improving very well made software is unspeakably difficult. On top of that, yeah, summertime can get crazy (as anyone with kids, or any other such unpredictable "real life" disruption knows)... so if you say you need more time to release a quality bug-free update, take your time!

3. It can be frustrating when your customers/fans complain. You care deeply about your product and how well it's received, but furthermore, you even care about their happiness and satisfaction. To care so much and then to get some unnecessarily harsh feedback can feel really awful... if you can learn to take criticism in stride, while never losing your love for your customers, you can achieve anything!

4. I'm willing to bet that even the most harsh complaints aren't really done out of anger. They're probably just a bit impatient, and too immature to realize that successful companies would never delay out of complacency or spite. Most of us out here know you're working hard, we love what you've given us so far, and for us to be eager for more and more, faster and faster... well... can you blame us? I just hope we all learn to be supportive and communicate both appreciation and disappointment with the enthusiasm and respect you deserve.

Keep doing an amazing job!

 

Finally someone who gets it. Someone who doesn't want a nerf every single minute. Someone who shows appreciation and respect.
Thank you Spinners.

 

In the absence of concrete information, I reserve the right to be harsh in my feedback. I don't blame people for not knowing any information that hasn't actually been announced on the Announcements subforum or posted in this thread (for people that have commented in this thread). All that's obvious, for people that don't follow half the discussions in General, is that Battle Bay hasn't had an update in over 2 months. There could be any number of reasons for that but the community as a whole doesn't know any of them.

 

WE WUZ RIGHT BOIZ

 

So are you scrapping all you stuff this weekend?

 

Really? I know of another mobile game company whose games I have played that is based in the Netherlands. The very same problems are cited on those forums just like here. And the entire company takes the whole month of July for vacation with the exception of a skeleton crew. This is not unique to Rovio or Battle Bay.

For that matter, this other game community forum is so strikingly similar in the personalities, complaints, defenders.... all of it. It is seriously eerie and a sad statement. You could find almost verbatim debates, complaints, trolling, demands for nerfs, demands for buffs, claims of unfairness, arguing, chest thumping and so on.

At this point I don't think it is the companies, the games or the dev teams that are the issue. I think this is what happens when you open access to a team working on a high profile product to direct customer interaction. Some people are entitled, spoiled, demanding and/or arrogant and it shows.

All a game community does is reveal the character of it's members. Here is a prediction for you: keep up the toxicity and the dev team will stop communicating with the game community. Don't believe me? The other forum I referenced above is there now. The toxicity became so virulent that the dev team hired a community manager and disappeared. Eventually the community manager stopped communicating too. Now bug reports are not even acknowledged, new updates are not explained and new features are not announced. No one gets answers to questions of how things work. Forum moderators who are unpaid volunteers police the forum and act as a go between to the community manager as a one way communication channel.

This and more can be the future of this forum if the members do not want to find some level of civility.

 

The BB team is small, and their vacation was spread across two weeks, and some of the staff worked through vacation... it was just a hugh update

 

Was not speaking of Rovio or Battle Bay in that statement. Was referring to the other games dev team and that dev team did take the entire monthof July off.

 

Supercell takes July off because they are in Sweden. Basically everyone in Sweden takes July off for holliday

 

And you don't think a practice that creates that much controversy among the playerbase is an issue? That's not a problem of communication, it's a problem with a lack of updates. They can close all communication, problems will still arise if we don't see updates for 2 months. The community starts raising a storm because they think the game is dying, not because we have some vendetta against the devs.

Here's an example. In one case, the company communicates and says the reason there haven't been any updates is because they have been on vacation. The community argues amongst themselves, but at least there's something there.
In another reality, the game hasn't seen updates in months and there's been no word or announcements from the devs. What do you think happens then?

 

This.

 

I do not think it is the developers who create the controversy. It is members of the community who are demanding and entitlement minded who create the drama.

These are developers their job is to work on gaming products for their company. It is not their job to mommy coddle needy members of a game community. They have no obligation to tell the game community anything.

 

But Rovio is based in Finland!

 

*mollycoddle

 

I am aware this is the proper form. I was taking creative licensing and going for a play on that.

 

I was just looking for an excuse to post something to make sure I hadn't got myself in trouble for being a dumb troll. Thanks for the creativity

 

You're right, they don't. My point was that the source of the "drama" is the lack of updates, and they do have an obligation to update the game. Players should not be expected to know the workplace culture and traditions of specific gaming companies in other countries, so that's why devs usually take the time to give an explanation. It may cause drama, but it stops people from quitting the game and gives them an outlook as to when the next update might be.

In other words, the community is totally expected to get demanding when they don't receive the updates they're entitled to. I recognize that saying "players are entitled to updates" is kind of a loaded statement, I'm just saying that we all know what happens when they stop updating the game and particularly slow updates only increase fears of that happening.

 

Here’s to tomorrow!