Feedback rare dev team

As an individual who has the day one patch as well as the launch crew sniper, i believe we do have great ideas on how we would like the game to evolve especially in adventure land. But with that said, we as pirate legends can also be the leaders within this still new and growing community, have conversations with the new players, lead and teach them. You will find like minded people out there who may also have the same ideas. Tell them about the insider programs, there is power in numbers especially if everyone has the same common goal.

We need rowboat skiing and toilets...

Edit...
And 4 man sloops and a 5+ crew ship lol.

Rare should (like any good developer) listen to every player out there.
It's what they do with that feedback that's important.

Remember this isn't our game as much as it's Rare's game. They poured their passion into this and made a game they wanted to play (and like to play it they do!).
Most of the features added over the course of the lifespan of this game have been sticky notes on their wall or even implemented features in the alpha build a long time ago. (Rowboats, Fog, Skeleton Ships, etc)

Rare also has had to make some unpopular choices, like the choice to opt out of crossplay. While I don't agree with it I can understand the backlash and see why Rare chose to promise this. It's something I bet they don't like to do as precious resources (time and effort) are poured into it to make it satisfactory.

So who does rare NEED to listen to? Themselves, and maybe Microsoft (they are the one handling the budget), however they listen to us all, here on the forums, on the Reddit and on Twitter, both new players who are just starting, as well as us vetrans who have been Legends since the Hungering deep.
Listening to players doesn't mean they have to cater the game to those people, Rare has a knack for giving people what they want in a way that doesn't alter the core of the game.
An example is the outcry for more and for less PvP.
Rare has made some great events that both bring people together (and introduced tools we still use (speaking trumpet, alliance flag for example) as well as events that bring more PvP to the world and its tools with it (reapers flag, repers runs and the Arena)

So all in all I'd say that there's no fearmongering needed, I believe Rare is on this and I trust in them. I give my feedback both here and on the insiders and It's been listened to in the past.
I also partake in the Q&A sections where we all get to ask questions and maybe even sneak ideas in there. And again Rare responds.

So don't worry too much.

@goedecke-michel Sure you may :-P But listening to people and doing as they say are differnt things.
I know Blizz used to be a good Developer that listned untill they merged with Activision and became a soulless corporate Entity.

@dadiodude said in Feedback rare dev team:

@fast-bike94

Actually someone that plays SoT for only two hours a week but then shuts it off to go play other games for hours on end would be the perfect player to talk to.

ABSOLUTELY!

@fast-bike94

It is disappointing to see things get nerfed. A lot of nerfs seem to happen unnecessarily.

I myself have played video games since I was a kid, and have played this particular game consistently for nearly the entirety of its post-launch lifespan. But I realize that a lot of this game’s player based does not fit that same “history” of gaming.

So I understand when certain things are made more accessible so that players of varying levels of experience can take on a challenge and have fun with it.

Now a lot of times we’ve seen things be nerfed into oblivion, like Rare maybe overcorrected on what they believed to be the issue. I think they have struggled to find an appropriate middle ground of accommodating “hardcore” and “casual” gamers.

No, they shouldn’t make everything accessible at a casual level but they also shouldn’t make everything geared to the veteran gamer.

Keep in mind, they don’t just change things off of player feedback alone. They also have the telemetry data that tells them, for example, exactly how often players sink to the Kraken. So they’ll examine that data against the feedback they’re getting and decide how to address it or if it is necessary to address it.

It seems like they’ve been getting better and better at doing that. As a player I do get the sense that they’re trying to get a better sense of how to balance things with “middle ground” in mind.

I’m happy about how engaged they are with us! Certain developers are stabbing their longtime fans in the heart and aren’t listening to us (I’m looking at you, Gamefreak!!) so I’m thankful for Rare’s efforts to be engaged with us and listen to us.

@blazedrake100

Yeah agreed, I think the nerf of the Devil's Roar was evened out a bit when they added the new ship damage, which made volcanoes have more of an overall impact on your ship.

@dadiodude I was speaking new in the fact of long term games like Wow, Diablo, SWTOR, and even GTA5. Barely over a year in those terms would still be considered new. But yes i see your point and there is alot they could do and hopefully will. Throw those ideas out there and if everyone finds common ground on the issue, we can all speak as one.

if rare stopped, took a step back. fixed all the bugs in the game. then patched that fix.

it would be crazy how many people would flock back to the game.

I can't count the amount of people I know who quit the game because of bugs, lag and crashes. hit registration is bleeding this game dry.

@nwo-azcrack said in Feedback rare dev team:

@treefittymonsta
This is true. Just had the glitch where u cant see the wind till die or take a mermaid.
Couldnt believe this was still not fixed.
Its been around since launch

I got the menu stuck open bug in last game session. Ive reported it many times over the last six months.

hell the cannon reload bug has been in the game since release.

I could list the bugs that I know but.i think that would be over the letter count on these forums.

heck instead of giving doubloons to people for arena. give them for bug reports.i could fillout 20 more tonight on the bugs I've encountered this week.

It looks to me like there are a few competing ideas or player demographics which are each competing to reshape the game to fit their views, and in a sense, each individual's needs. Each is made up of different mindsets, or types of players.

• The FPSers (The thieves and emote-ship-tuckers, the better-than-thou elite PVPers that come from games such as CSGO, Overwatch, etc. People who live to play arena or those who, when playing adventure, would rather fight first and foremost when given the option)

• The PVErs (Those who seek out adventure mode and prefer, in the moment, to mitigate interaction with others whatsoever. Also those who prefer alliances over combat. Not necessarily exclusive from being PVPers, but at times certain players may find themselves avoiding PVP to partake in PVE content.)

• The Younglings & Newbies (i.e. anyone who isn't necessarily drawn to any particular objective but just find themselves sailing around admiring the scenery, casting fishing poles, or exploring for the sake of exploring. Infrequent players. These players usually move on to other games or move on to become PVPers or PVErs)

Each of these groups seem to be finding less and less common ground as the game's development goes on and it's apparent that each of these player demographics needs fulfillment. Splitting the playerbase by making the game modes explicitly separated at the Menu screen, in my view, hurts the playerbase. Pirates are no longer motivated to join adventure mode with the hopes of stealing others' treasure. Instead, adventure mode has drawn those pirates, who, by nature, are those looking for PVE content (i.e. avoiding fights, since if their motivation were to fight they would have selected Arena) and PVPers likewise are simply only drawn to Arena.

What Rare fails to realize, in my eyes, is that each of these groups actually forms part of a symbiotic relationship, whereby splitting them at the Main Menu derives them of true fulfillment and meaning.

• PVPers no longer see potential targets on the Seas, which robs them of individual meaning as their fulfillment in the game is co-dependent on PVErs seeking adventure and loot. Replay value wanes for PVPers as long as opposing players either are so few that they don't exist, or the opposing players lack competency so as to be perceived as a non-challenge (huge issue currently pervasive in Arena and is made clearly obvious in Adventure mode ever since the Adventure mode separation).

• PVErs initially believe that this may benefit them, (where Rare now finds themselves) since they no longer need to worry about being harassed by PVPers and having their loot stolen. All seems in equilibrium, since each group finds themselves as a part of the game mode which they want to participate in. But, this too falls flat as most (at least those with a sense of pride or individuality) recognize that without an opposing force to stop them on the seas, the game becomes quite shallow and repetitive. In general, replay value wanes. Without PVPers, PVE content is perceived as a sandbox mode, and continues to draw players who only want to play a sandbox mode (since this becomes their only experience while playing the game).

• Younglings & Newbies generally have the same stance as the PVErs, and would prefer to be left alone. The only difference is that these players tend to not be wholly committed to the game, or play very sporadically. Often they rely on PVErs or PVPers to show them the ropes, and to stir up excitement in them to discover new aspects of the game which they are still unaware of. The latter argument is something that I think is definitely overlooked. (since exploring and fishing often loses its replay value after just a few playthroughs, these players usually evolve to become either PVPers or PVErs).

Each of these groups of players have needs that should be met but separating them undermines this symbiotic relationship. I believe it's the cohesion of these types of players that bolsters the game's appeal. It's not because of just the features that this game is great. It's because of the interactions which take place as a result of these features between these different player-types that creates the feeling of the Sea of Thieves.

Now, as for player representation, waxing a bit philosophical here,

A recent research study on crowdsourcing said:

“Democratic methods…tend to favor the most popular information, not necessarily the most correct. The ignorance of the masses can cancel out a knowledgeable minority with specialized information of a topic, resulting in the wrong answer becoming the most accepted.”

When you consider a situation where a body of players whose numbers exceed the number which you would need in order to consider each individual's opinion equally valid, it inevitably becomes clear that in order to represent each individual's claim for suggestions for change, there must needs be a condensed system for demographic representation. This is the basis of democratic republicanism, where a fair few individuals are lifted up to speak on behalf of their respective smaller populaces.

On the topic of certain people having a larger voice than others: It is more than likely true that some players have more knowledge about the game's workings and interactions than other players based on their time playing. Does it mean that those players automatically have better ideas? Not necessarily. However, I do believe it a likelihood that the playerbase with more hours played is likewise more likely to give sound advice about how to reproduce replay value since the player who spends alot of time playing is the most likely to pursue playing the game even more. In addition, it is wise business strategy to listen to complaints fielded by those who play the game the most since those same players are more likely to share their experiences with other players and pursuade others to try the game. Likewise those who play games a lot tend to also have social circles filled with others who also spend a lot of hours playing games. These types are the social circles that you want to market to, since they are filled with people who are most likely to keep your game active and healthy. Players with large online followings should be heeded to generally, since they would not garner large followings if people did not think they have good ideas, or at the very least think them good at the game.

In the same vein of thought, those players who have spent little or no time in the game, or never played with other pirates, or those who simply play alone and continue to do so have theoretically less impact on growing the game. Their social circles are less likely to include other players. They are less likely to share their experience with others, and their experience is of less immediate concern from a marketing perspective since their lack of social connection innately implies that they are happy experiencing and consuming the game's content in its current state. They generally have less concern for future content or investing large sums of hours to the game. Replay value is of little or no concern for them because replaying the game is something they seldom do, (or in the case of solo players, affects few other players). Their needs and wants are likely geared towards their immediate personal or individual needs and are less likely to include the needs of their social circle of friends, and are less likely to reflect the needs of players at large.

People who have large followings online should be treated with extreme care. Player feedback from Rare on their YouTube channel exists for a reason. Rare seems to be aware that other developers who blatantly disregard what social outreach from a personality with a large following on Twitch, YouTube, or Twitter can do to a game's public perception are usually taking a risk by doing so. Game reviewers and players are growing more objective about their criticisms, and usually sprinkle in bits of truth among their more scathing remarks, even if their suggestions or more petty complaints often miss the target.

This paradoxical idea that people with large followings and thousands of hours players have the same voice as a regular player with no social following and only a handful of hours is wrong in the same way that a doctor who's performed brain surgery shouldn't be compared with a student just beginning medical school for performing brain surgery. Competence exists and players can and do become more knowledgeable about the nuances of the game than some. It's why some players play better than others. It's quite literally nature at work.