You are absolutely correct that data is important when making a decision -- informed decisions are (or should be) the cornerstone of each business decision that is made. That being said, this is not data that is even slightly useful in a business setting other than possibly kicking off a business case to examine the possibility at most. Even if every single post in this forum was a unique user agreeing with the topic, it still might not make good business sense....it's a tiny fraction of the player base. I personally believe a lot of the people who frequent GD rather than playing the game are those who are unhappy with something (not all, just an opinion too). A majority (IMO) of the players play the game when they have time rather than posting on the forum. (Brings up a second question of what is wrong with us?)
It's good to hear that you work in process enhancement, possibly BPE if I understand correctly. That means you at least understand the impact of developing/supporting multiple baselines in a production environment. It is not an undertaking that should be taken lightly and should absolutely be backed by sound business decisions because of the additional development time, additional baselines to perform testing against...etc. You most certainly understand the development lifecycle in your current position. What you may not have access to is the financials of the business as a whole, or the data that goes into making enterprise level decisions (assuming, no idea).
Even beyond the business driven decision, there is the core focus of the business and the game. If you have read Good to Great, or several other books that refer to what makes a business survive (let alone make significant headway into a market) includes many factors including being true to your core values -- maintaining focus and passion in those areas. Loss of identity can cause irreparable harm to both the products and the morale of the organizations.
Something to take into account at least in terms of what basically eludes to a vision statement for the game:
Path of Exile is an online Action RPG set in the dark fantasy world of Wraeclast. We're a small independent team of hardcore gamers based in New Zealand and have created Path of Exile as the game that we'd want to play ourselves. It is designed around a strong barter-based online item economy, deep character customisation, competitive PvP and ladder races. The game is completely free and will never be "pay to win".
Although this is not some scripture written in stone, it is the vector they have chosen. This model has proven successful and has even created a profitable company according to the recent article published in New Zealand.
Basically what this whole movement proposes is stepping away from their core message to their customer base (very very risky, last resort territory), maintain additional baselines of their product baseline (most definitions of SFL include more than just disable party and trade); with little basis to do so other than a vocal group on the forum (a small minority compared to the aggregate player base).
POE is successful in their current model. Anecdotes do not undermine that success. 'Lets try it and see what happens' is quite possibly one of the worst ways to make a decision of this magnitude IMHO.
EDIT (sorry, could not help it)
SFL =
Hey, I'd just like to congratulate you on a thorough and well considered post that not only answers my points, but actually answers the thread topic itself. Certainly far better than anything else I've seen on the matter.
I'm not saying I agree 100% - I still think the game has problems and I still think this could be the solution. The thrill of this kind of game - the entire reason, really, for randomisation, is that you don't know what you're going to get. And it could be amazing. That's the reason to keep biting the cookie. Once that feeling's lost, and I'd argue it is as you progress, you lose something huge. I'd also still argue that an SFL with increased drop rates could be a way to sidestep the problem without crippling the economy (for the players who want it) outlined in the mission statement.
That being said, you make some very valid points about the costs and the risks. Doesn't mean I'm going to stop saying I think this is a good idea, because the fact that I and others want this is relevent to whatever decision is made. However, I'll happily accept that I've understated the cost, and endeaver not to do so henceforth.
Seriously?see anyone else disqussing it now?Because we live on sfl era.This thread might as well close,so you dont self shameless bump it for no reason
Yes, GGG has made some changes to the game that benefit self-found players a lot. They still have probably no intention of making self-found leagues though.
GGG banning all political discussion shortly after getting acquired by China is a weird coincidence.
Yes, GGG has made some changes to the game that benefit self-found players a lot. They still have probably no intention of making self-found leagues though.
Does self-found include not sharing Masters missions with anybody? =0[.]o=
