Rare's Youtube Developer Updates Continue to Get Shorter and Less Substantial

  • WilliamHerschel
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    Rare's launch status developer update, and week 1 update were significantly longer and more substantial videos compared to the more corporate (in studio) developer updates that we've been getting in subsequent weeks.

    For reference here's the first two updates:

    I much prefer these less polished in front of a whiteboard style updates over the more polished and vague in-studio updates.

    Additionally, I miss the long-form "Behind the Scenes" videos like this 23 minute video that Rare put out prior to launch.

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  • xCALYPT0x
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    @williamherschel Eh. I somewhat agree. In the first two they were discussing why we were seeing performance issues with the game servers. The only fair comparison would be with the update from 2 weeks ago where they delayed because of PC issues. They didn't talk about the issues as much as they did in these two videos.

    For last weeks video, they pushed the update out to the live environment before realizing there were any issues so they didn't have much to talk about other than the changes that we would be getting.

  • WilliamHerschel
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    @xcalypt0x

    Launch update: 10:54
    Week One update: 12:36
    May 1st update: 7:58
    May 10th update: 7:08
    May 15th update: 3:03

    I agree with what you're saying to an extent. The May 15th update came out prior to the issues people experienced with that patch. However, the game still has a significant amount of bugs and problems, and I much prefer the white board style interviews over the glossy "everything is fine" ambiguity that we've received in the later videos.

    Perhaps, that will change with this week's developer update. I just can't help but feel like the interaction Rare developers are having with their community is trending down. This is also apparent with little the developers seem to be using the official forums to communicate with their fans.

  • Dazed898
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    @williamherschel I mean they are interacting with the community in multiple forums. if you believe its been dwindling its possible because its getting close to a large content drop. I dont ever see other games to anything close to this kind of interaction.

  • WilliamHerschel
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    @dazed898

    Following the release build of the game, developer interaction on the official forums essentially dropped off entirely. Outside of a few obscure posts like a Rare employee dropping in to vaguely confirm (through upvote) that Hungering Deep wasn't coming out two weeks.

    The communication was much better during the alpha and beta than it is currently, and this drop off was much steeper than what I was expecting.

    You're right that they've been utilizing multiple platforms like Twitter and Reddit, but their messaging has been inconsistent between the two. Just last week on Twitter they said they were decreasing washed up items, whereas on Reddit they posted that they were turning it off entirely. Why bother having an official forum, if you're going to use Twitter and Reddit almost exclusively?

    Where are the developers on the official forums? Where are all the deckhands? I'm really getting the sense that Microsoft has already moved on from this title, and outside of whatever budget was initially allocated for post-release updates, I'm really not expecting much in the way of this game becoming a substantial service on the Xbox platform.

  • DutchDeadSchot
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    @williamherschel complainers walk the plank

  • xCALYPT0x
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    @williamherschel Good points. I wouldn't mind if they started doing 2 different videos. Patch notes like they have recently and a new series for bug fixes/QoL works-in-progress.

    @PersonalC0ffee Hey! You can't use that kind of vulgar language here! What if a child heard you say B u s y?

  • StubbierBell598

    @williamherschel that's just how these kind of cash grabs work mate.

  • WilliamHerschel
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    @personalc0ffee

    At this point, I get that this is your persona on the forum. I just don't understand why you continue to act like every legitimate criticism is an affront to your very core.

    We all care about SoT and Rare, but they're not paying me to do PR for them, so I don't feel the need to turn every little thing into a positive when there is so clearly issues with this game. Especially when you present this positive spin in such a hyperbolic way. This isn't about "having a life" SoT is a product created by a company that has consistently messaged that it was intended to be a long term service.

  • A Cranky Eskimo
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    @personalc0ffee said in Rare's Youtube Developer Updates Continue to Get Shorter and Less Substantial:

    Omg it is almost like they have a life and are busy or something.

    :O

    Conspiracy I tells ya.

    Omg its almost like you and others constantly feel the need to defend them like they are helpless babies, he brought up some points based in fact and said he was worried, what about this post makes you need so badly to be rares white knight lol... seems a recurring theme with you...

    They have a life and they also have a job, making this game, and from what I hear they get paid pretty well. Maybe they should bring that same level of quality of life to the game that is their job to design.

  • TheMustaMissed
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    @williamherschel said in Rare's Youtube Developer Updates Continue to Get Shorter and Less Substantial:

    @personalc0ffee

    At this point, I get that this is your persona on the forum. I just don't understand why you continue to act like every legitimate criticism is an affront to your very core.

    We all care about SoT and Rare, but they're not paying me to do PR for them, so I don't feel the need to turn every little thing into a positive when there is so clearly issues with this game. Especially when you present this positive spin in such a hyperbolic way. This isn't about "having a life" SoT is a product created by a company that has consistently messaged that it was intended to be a long term service.

    I agree. Sad to see someone, like yourself ask questions in a mature and normal fashion, only to have someone come back with, what is basically U mad bro?. These day's you can't even have legit complaints without some knucklehead coming in and acting stupid about it.

    This was not a:
    pc players are hackers
    Xbox players are noobs
    I hate pvp
    I hate pve
    I want gold for crashing

    The community here can truly be toxic.

  • TheMustaMissed
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    @personalc0ffee said in Rare's Youtube Developer Updates Continue to Get Shorter and Less Substantial:

    Let them focus on updating and maintaining the game. They don't have time to spend there talking for hours about what they are going to be doing.

    THEY ARE BUSY.

    It blows my mind that the community was not prepared for decreased communication times after launch and before major content drops. They don't have time to sit there making videos ESPECIALLY after that huge Allmondbeard s***u. Do you have any actual real idea the level of BAD that was?

    Need to learn patience and to stop complaining about everything and anything, honestly.

    No, I am not defending them or coddling them like they are some lost little puppies. I just happen to know a thing or two about what it is like behind the scenes.

    It's called giving them a break and letting them do their thing.

    They will update us regularly, that's all that matters.

    Also blows my mind when people, like yourself defend them non-stop and at every turn. There is a time and place to defend them. This was not one of those. It's clear you will white knight almost every time, which in turn makes your opinion, c**p. Well IMHO anyways. Usually I agree with most of what you say, but even I am seeing the white knight.

  • StubbierBell598

    @personalc0ffee no way. Rare could lock down the severs and demand everyone to pay another $60 to play and you would be like "They need money to keep the servers going guys!"

  • DrunkPunk138
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    @williamherschel said in Rare's Youtube Developer Updates Continue to Get Shorter and Less Substantial:

    @personalc0ffee

    At this point, I get that this is your persona on the forum. I just don't understand why you continue to act like every legitimate criticism is an affront to your very core.

    Perhaps it's the nitpicky nature of a lot of complaints that pop up, such as measuring the time in developer updates to talk about how they are decreasing. Seriously, what else is there to talk about? They're preparing for a big content drop, most of the launch issues are no longer issues, I mean you have to expect that these things will vary as time goes on. At least one of the responses that agree with you borderlines absurdity, and it gets tiring to explain the logic behind not being riled up just to be labeled as "mindlessly defending". Sure, that dev video was a bit shorter. Did it not focus on the issues for that current week? Did they not release a teaser, with a release date, for their next content update within the same week? Seriously, I think that if people were more focused on criticizing the places Rare truly is falling short, this community would be a lot healthier. I'll at least give you credit for keeping your discussions civil, free of passive aggressive little insults and statements like "game is dead". But it feels like for every accusation of someone white knighting Rare, there is another equal sized group just tossing out criticism for everything they can find, no matter how small, insignificant or untrue that criticism is.

  • xCALYPT0x
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    @williamherschel @TheMustaMissed @A-Cranky-Eskimo I don't wan to put words in his mouth but I think what @PersonalC0ffee's point is, is that this is not as egregious as some other issues people have noticed. If that was his point, I would have to agree with him.

    That being said, even if it's not as big of a concern, I think it is valid. I'm not sure why the newest video was only 3 minutes but there was someone new doing the talking so maybe he wasn't able to come up with as many talking points as Joe normally does (I think that's his name). Hopefully they go back up but for now at least they are still releasing videos weekly.

  • BraxKedren
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    @personalc0ffee said in Rare's Youtube Developer Updates Continue to Get Shorter and Less Substantial:

    Let them focus on updating and maintaining the game. They don't have time to spend there talking for hours about what they are going to be doing.

    THEY ARE BUSY.

    It blows my mind that the community was not prepared for decreased communication times after launch and before major content drops. They don't have time to sit there making videos ESPECIALLY after that huge Allmondbeard s***u. Do you have any actual real idea the level of BAD that was?

    Need to learn patience and to stop complaining about everything and anything, honestly.

    No, I am not defending them or coddling them like they are some lost little puppies. I just happen to know a thing or two about what it is like behind the scenes.

    It's called giving them a break and letting them do their thing.

    They will update us regularly, that's all that matters.

    It's monday. the "Sky is Falling" posters are out in force today. I'd like to see these whiners start a game company with all the "It's so easy" mentality they have.

  • OHeck

    There is time for a thread like this. I would say it's a bit premature given they have their first free dlc drop in 8 days. Given how the last patch went with some minor additions, I imagine their focus is fully on not having an even bigger feature roll back on the 29th. Also keepin mind they are working on the next dlc simultaneously.

    I am big content critic since release, and this is their first effort to try and mend things with their community. So let's give them some leeway ahead of this drop.

  • WilliamHerschel
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    @OHeck

    This is a fair point. I merely think that this is a fairly pressing issue concerning the state of the forum and the SoT community. I'm holding out hope for HD, but there seems to be a push recently to significantly downplay the improvements that are coming in that update.

    I just now saw a thread by @Evil-Wolf-Snipe that apparently there's going to be an update tomorrow. Source for this seems to be Twitter. Why isn't there an official thread on this? @Kat-Truewalkerr is probably the most active deckhand on the forum, and I just saw @KnightX13 post regarding a moderation issue, but where are all the other Deckhands and developers? They've basically been inactive since on this forum since launch.

    At the very least, I'm happy that they seem to have simultaneously updated the Status page alongside the tweet/announcement. I'm wondering if there is some way to auto generate an official thread alongside it.

  • Jacknife Wilson
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    I have to admit, in view of media presentations or 'developer updates', this most recent one was pretty thin...

    Perhaps it's my experience in media, or as a public speaker, that drives my opinion on this point. Once you start to set precedent, it's important to keep up with that standard. I don't really expect much from developer updates in the first place, so I hadn't any immediate reason to concern myself.

    But, hey, since it's been brought up - yea... I noticed the most recent offerings haven't been much worth the watch to be honest.

    Maybe someone handed 'em a banana before the offering?

  • KnifeLife
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    @a-cranky-eskimo @WilliamHerschel I just try and ignore them, theres a couple like it who think they know everything and there opinions trump all others. Just dont feed the trolls lol

  • KnightX13
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    Deckhand

    We Deckhands are still here. Just figuring things out still and how best to serve the community and Rare. We were never inactive, we lurked (a lot), just unfortunately doing a lot of back-end duties which pulled our focus and ability to properly engage. Something I know I am trying to change, as noted.

    There are typically planned maintenances/patches every Tuesday, though depending on what might be happening they could get withheld or moved to a different date (or multiple in a week). And while I think Rare plans to have some form of content, or at least quality of life improvements, with these updates, we have already seen at least one week where this was strictly a server update, and last week where we saw multiple due to an issue that arose. But you may want to keep an eye out for tomorrow's patch notes. ;)

  • KnightX13
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    (man we need to get this new auto-filter fixed)...har

  • TheMustaMissed
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    @braxkedren said in Rare's Youtube Developer Updates Continue to Get Shorter and Less Substantial:

    @personalc0ffee said in Rare's Youtube Developer Updates Continue to Get Shorter and Less Substantial:

    Let them focus on updating and maintaining the game. They don't have time to spend there talking for hours about what they are going to be doing.

    THEY ARE BUSY.

    It blows my mind that the community was not prepared for decreased communication times after launch and before major content drops. They don't have time to sit there making videos ESPECIALLY after that huge Allmondbeard s***u. Do you have any actual real idea the level of BAD that was?

    Need to learn patience and to stop complaining about everything and anything, honestly.

    No, I am not defending them or coddling them like they are some lost little puppies. I just happen to know a thing or two about what it is like behind the scenes.

    It's called giving them a break and letting them do their thing.

    They will update us regularly, that's all that matters.

    It's monday. the "Sky is Falling" posters are out in force today. I'd like to see these whiners start a game company with all the "It's so easy" mentality they have.

    See right here, more strawman bs. He never said the sky is falling, He was actually looking to get an answer to as why is seems they are not interacting with us as much. But keep on with the lame strawman bs, its the cool thing to do these days by kids. And if you're not a kid? Then try not using lame kiddy/strawman bs.

  • erikinthebakery
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    @WilliamHerschel
    Different situations require different levels of communication. It makes sense that "our servers are on fire, here is how we are trying to fix it" would take more time (and be less polished) than "We are adding in a couple little features before our first big update".

    Honestly, if this is what you are complaining about, the game must be doing pretty good.

    @knightx13 said in Rare's Youtube Developer Updates Continue to Get Shorter and Less Substantial:

    (man we need to get this new auto-filter fixed)...har

    Get busy on it! :)

  • BraxKedren
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    @themustamissed said in Rare's Youtube Developer Updates Continue to Get Shorter and Less Substantial:

    @braxkedren said in Rare's Youtube Developer Updates Continue to Get Shorter and Less Substantial:

    @personalc0ffee said in Rare's Youtube Developer Updates Continue to Get Shorter and Less Substantial:

    Let them focus on updating and maintaining the game. They don't have time to spend there talking for hours about what they are going to be doing.

    THEY ARE BUSY.

    It blows my mind that the community was not prepared for decreased communication times after launch and before major content drops. They don't have time to sit there making videos ESPECIALLY after that huge Allmondbeard s***u. Do you have any actual real idea the level of BAD that was?

    Need to learn patience and to stop complaining about everything and anything, honestly.

    No, I am not defending them or coddling them like they are some lost little puppies. I just happen to know a thing or two about what it is like behind the scenes.

    It's called giving them a break and letting them do their thing.

    They will update us regularly, that's all that matters.

    It's monday. the "Sky is Falling" posters are out in force today. I'd like to see these whiners start a game company with all the "It's so easy" mentality they have.

    See right here, more strawman bs. He never said the sky is falling, He was actually looking to get an answer to as why is seems they are not interacting with us as much. But keep on with the lame strawman bs, its the cool thing to do these days by kids. And if you're not a kid? Then try not using lame kiddy/strawman bs.

    Yeah, never claimed he did there guy, just commented to someone else about the type of posts we see coming today from people. I just responding to Coffee on his post. I thought it was well written and accurate. It wasn't against him just more against some that he was responding too.

    Thanks for the attack though, appreciate it.

  • TheMustaMissed
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    I really don't think anyone understands, Questioning compared to complaining.....
    Then again I almost expect it. With the all the u mad bro git gud and so on its clear, asking a question and having a real debate on the internet is a joke. Because anytime you do, its, the same strawman bs...

  • TheMustaMissed
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    @braxkedren said in Rare's Youtube Developer Updates Continue to Get Shorter and Less Substantial:

    @themustamissed said in Rare's Youtube Developer Updates Continue to Get Shorter and Less Substantial:

    @braxkedren said in Rare's Youtube Developer Updates Continue to Get Shorter and Less Substantial:

    @personalc0ffee said in Rare's Youtube Developer Updates Continue to Get Shorter and Less Substantial:

    Let them focus on updating and maintaining the game. They don't have time to spend there talking for hours about what they are going to be doing.

    THEY ARE BUSY.

    It blows my mind that the community was not prepared for decreased communication times after launch and before major content drops. They don't have time to sit there making videos ESPECIALLY after that huge Allmondbeard s***u. Do you have any actual real idea the level of BAD that was?

    Need to learn patience and to stop complaining about everything and anything, honestly.

    No, I am not defending them or coddling them like they are some lost little puppies. I just happen to know a thing or two about what it is like behind the scenes.

    It's called giving them a break and letting them do their thing.

    They will update us regularly, that's all that matters.

    It's monday. the "Sky is Falling" posters are out in force today. I'd like to see these whiners start a game company with all the "It's so easy" mentality they have.

    See right here, more strawman bs. He never said the sky is falling, He was actually looking to get an answer to as why is seems they are not interacting with us as much. But keep on with the lame strawman bs, its the cool thing to do these days by kids. And if you're not a kid? Then try not using lame kiddy/strawman bs.

    Yeah, never claimed he did there guy, just commented to someone else about the type of posts we see coming today from people. I just responding to Coffee on his post. I thought it was well written and accurate. It wasn't against him just more against some that he was responding too.

    Thanks for the attack though, appreciate it.

    Its right there in your post... You said the Sky is falling posters are here, I mean its clear what you were trying to say. And attack you? I swear everyone is a snowflake these days, with the attacking me c**p. I never attacked you, simply typed some words out that I am guessing hurt your feelings. As to make sure I don't hurt your feelings anymore I won't respond to anything you write from here on out... Have a good day now :)

  • A Cranky Eskimo
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    Apparently my posts are “borderline absurdity”. Seems like a personal issue with me more than reality. Typical of this forum, as he didn’t address any of my points, these people rarely do.

  • Solkian19
    Marauder

    Or maybe they just realised that a long version it's too boring and people leave way earlier that they think.

    You know you can see where people stop to watch your video right?
    Then if a large number of people start to go away after 5min of a 23min video then it probably means the format is not the good one...

    It doesnt necessarily that devs doesnt care anymore... =___=

  • BraxKedren
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    @themustamissed said in Rare's Youtube Developer Updates Continue to Get Shorter and Less Substantial:

    @braxkedren said in Rare's Youtube Developer Updates Continue to Get Shorter and Less Substantial:

    @themustamissed said in Rare's Youtube Developer Updates Continue to Get Shorter and Less Substantial:

    @braxkedren said in Rare's Youtube Developer Updates Continue to Get Shorter and Less Substantial:

    @personalc0ffee said in Rare's Youtube Developer Updates Continue to Get Shorter and Less Substantial:

    Let them focus on updating and maintaining the game. They don't have time to spend there talking for hours about what they are going to be doing.

    THEY ARE BUSY.

    It blows my mind that the community was not prepared for decreased communication times after launch and before major content drops. They don't have time to sit there making videos ESPECIALLY after that huge Allmondbeard s***u. Do you have any actual real idea the level of BAD that was?

    Need to learn patience and to stop complaining about everything and anything, honestly.

    No, I am not defending them or coddling them like they are some lost little puppies. I just happen to know a thing or two about what it is like behind the scenes.

    It's called giving them a break and letting them do their thing.

    They will update us regularly, that's all that matters.

    It's monday. the "Sky is Falling" posters are out in force today. I'd like to see these whiners start a game company with all the "It's so easy" mentality they have.

    See right here, more strawman bs. He never said the sky is falling, He was actually looking to get an answer to as why is seems they are not interacting with us as much. But keep on with the lame strawman bs, its the cool thing to do these days by kids. And if you're not a kid? Then try not using lame kiddy/strawman bs.

    Yeah, never claimed he did there guy, just commented to someone else about the type of posts we see coming today from people. I just responding to Coffee on his post. I thought it was well written and accurate. It wasn't against him just more against some that he was responding too.

    Thanks for the attack though, appreciate it.

    Its right there in your post... You said the Sky is falling posters are here, I mean its clear what you were trying to say. And attack you? I swear everyone is a snowflake these days, with the attacking me c**p. I never attacked you, simply typed some words out that I am guessing hurt your feelings. As to make sure I don't hurt your feelings anymore I won't respond to anything you write from here on out... Have a good day now :)

    ?? /WavesGoodbye

  • DrunkPunk138
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    @a-cranky-eskimo said in Rare's Youtube Developer Updates Continue to Get Shorter and Less Substantial:

    Apparently my posts are “borderline absurdity”. Seems like a personal issue with me more than reality. Typical of this forum, as he didn’t address any of my points, these people rarely do.

    Must have struck a nerve, if you were so easily able to identify yourself as that "borderline absurd" poster.

  • MarsMayflower
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    @drunkpunk138 game is high quality. the end.

  • WilliamHerschel
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    @knightx13

    I appreciate the post and explanation. Hah, is this auto-filter stuff new as of today? I could have sworn it wasn't an issue last week.

    I fully acknowledge the noticeable improvement that is the status page receiving regular updates. I think that's good progress.

    Hopefully some improvements can be made in an effort to retain the forum community. I rarely ever join title specific official forums, but I started participating in this forum during Alpha/Beta because this seemed to be the best place to find news about the game and provide feedback (and occasionally interact with) Rare developers. For example, I really used to enjoy reading the Q&A threads by @OpticalMatrix. They don't need to be a frequent thing, but it'd be cool to see a post release Q&A thread at some point in the near future.

    @erikinthebakery I appreciated the whiteboard style format because it just seemed more transparent to me. E.g. "Here are some of our biggest issues, here are those plans to fix those issues." In the studio style format (that the recent videos have utilized), it sort of allows them to simply address the issues that they want to, and ignore the issues that they don't. It just seems more PR oriented, than the more organic videos that utilized the older format.

  • erikinthebakery
    Captain
    Founder

    @themustamissed said in Rare's Youtube Developer Updates Continue to Get Shorter and Less Substantial:

    I really don't think anyone understands, Questioning compared to complaining.....
    Then again I almost expect it. With the all the u mad bro git gud and so on its clear, asking a question and having a real debate on the internet is a joke. Because anytime you do, its, the same strawman bs...

    There is a valid difference between questioning and complaining. If you'd look at the original post, you'll see a complete and utter lack of questions. Thus, he is not questioning he is complaining about the length of developer videos. Really.

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