Modern Complaint/Old Compliment

from GalCiv3 Forums

I like to get things started by saying I love Stardock and everything it does compared to other modern video game companies out there.  I think they have excellent response and community reaction/discussion and keep their customers up to date and go out of their way to make as many people happy as they can.

Complaints

Well here is where I think they can improve as I always prefer to get the complaints/negative out of the way first.

Stardock has caught the modern game industry's bug and that is let's put a game out that would have been late Beta 10-15 years ago.  If they would have shipped a CD/DVD with version 1.0 on it and would have been installed on ones computer with limited Internet access (so little to no patches) the customer would have been extremely frustrated with crashes and performance issues.  Now Galactic Civilizations III has come a long way from where it was in early April and with the newer patches even a long way from where it was on release only a couple weeks ago with patch 1.02.  My question is...

Why do modern companies rely on these post release patches to clean up their game?

A.  The best answer I can come up with is convenience.  10-15 years ago, although many people did have the Internet, a lot of people were still struggling with slow or unreliable Internet connections and therefore had to make sure the game was as stable and preformed as best as possible.  Now days if there are problems like this post release we'll just send out a patch and as long as the game is "fun" and plays good we'll still get good reviews and people will like this game.

What can the consumer do to prevent this from happening in the future?

A.  Simple voice your concerns and don't support the games until they are complete.  Now I know this is easy to say and not so easy in practice.  If more games fail because of them not running smoothly or missing features in the final game then companies will be more concerned with producing a complete stable and good preforming game upon release.  As long as the game sells millions of copies before/at/or shortly after release than as consumers we're saying we're okay with this practice.

What is this free update to missing features in the released game?

A.  As mentioned prior to release some features didn't make the timeline and were not included in the full release version 1.0 and are expected instead in a free patch in version 1.10.  So the game wasn't complete at release, they will give you what they promised, however, going back to the first question because of the modern conveniences it will come via downloaded content weeks to months after the official release.  If this was the case many years ago people would have been all over the company for not releasing a full game.

Compliments

Now for all the good that Stardock stands for and makes things right.

Stardock has always been there for their consumers/customers and are big supporters of them.  After all if they don't have us, they don't exist.  Even though I and many others have similar feelings they do their best to make things right.  Even though some of this can be frustrating the game isn't broken beyond repair like several other games released over the past couple years.  They continue to have great feedback and regular communication with the fans.

Why does Stardock take listen to their community?

A.  Simple, the customer makes Stardock so why not give the customer what they want in the game?  After all if they put what the customer wants in the game then chances are that customer will purchase said game.

Why does Stardock offer free patches in a day that many companies are money driven with extra paid for DLC's?

A.  Stardock values their fans and customer base and goes out of their way to make sure their product eventually meets most fans view of the game.  With that being said they want to reward their community and encourage feedback to improve the finish product.  Does Stardock charge for some DLC's and not offer free patches, yes, some of the patches DLC's are at a charge (for those that aren't Founders Elite) but, they make sure they give the fans what they promised which is why there has been two patches already and will be an included patch version 1.10.

What can the consumer do to help make the game great?

A.  Continue to support Stardock and their games.  Attempt to provide constructive feedback and offer solutions.  Don't tear the company or game apart until it is completed.  

 

Final thoughts, Sorry for anything anyone doesn't agree with, I was not attempting to be too negative and was trying to provide an outlet for my frustration.  Special thanks to Stardock and the Galactic Civilizations III team for all the hard work that they do and continue to do.

10,175 views 3 replies
Reply #1 from GalCiv3 Forums Top

I hardly think anyone is going to accuse you of being unsupportive.  You have been a leader in this community.

That said, I think the whole business of what is release or not has become relative, because of the internet.  Except for one thing: trade reviews.   Bad reviews will tend to stick no matter what happens.  So the publisher has to weigh this and make a tough decision.  I have noted elsewhere that the top games in many cases did not hit their stride until at least two full expansions, e.g. Civ 4 bts, Civ 5 bnw, and Skyrim - although the latter also required an enormous mod effort over a long period.  Civ 4 bts is often cited as the best 4x ever, but the vanilla version, IMO, was not stellar.

Speaking of pre-release, bad reviews by users is the big downside of early access.   I think that trade off is worth it if you have a solid core of testers and a company that works with them.

I will speak for myself.  I would have been unhappy to be unable to get into EA and once in the process, when the release was didn't matter much to me.   Heck the updates are still coming so fast it is breath taking.

I sympathize of course.  I want it all now!  I am not getting any younger.

Reply #2 from GalCiv3 Forums Top



Why do modern companies rely on these post release patches to clean up their game?

A.  The best answer I can come up with is convenience.  10-15 years ago, although many people did have the Internet, a lot of people were still struggling with slow or unreliable Internet connections and therefore had to make sure the game was as stable and preformed as best as possible.  Now days if there are problems like this post release we'll just send out a patch and as long as the game is "fun" and plays good we'll still get good reviews and people will like this game.

End of quote

 

Is this really a problem? I mean Stardock and other companies need to balance the state of the game at a certain date vs. budget and expenses. Besides with early access I guess game design is more dynamic/ interactive as input from users can sway the game designers (Stardock, Boyer) in one or the other direction. Therefore games 10-15 years without early access would not have to cope with early access users complaining and demanding this and that feature. They just followed their original feature list and worked on that. Hence they could finish and polish a game to a better state compared to today, where early access provides a for a more dynamic feature list. 

I believe that Elemental War of Magic is a good example of how too much user input / demanding features in the game, can lead to a broken game. 

 

What is this free update to missing features in the released game?

A.  As mentioned prior to release some features didn't make the timeline and were not included in the full release version 1.0 and are expected instead in a free patch in version 1.10.  So the game wasn't complete at release, they will give you what they promised, however, going back to the first question because of the modern conveniences it will come via downloaded content weeks to months after the official release.  If this was the case many years ago people would have been all over the company for not releasing a full game.

End of quote

I do not see GalCiv 3 as incomplete as it is up to the game designer (Boyer) to decide which features to include with current budget and time constraints. Of course with infinite ressources and time you can make a game and polish it to perfection. Further game release also depends on other factors such as competing games, budget constraints, shareholders/owners, other projects etc. and not the state of the game itself.

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Reply #3 from GalCiv3 Forums Top

One thing that just occurred to me is that my first priority is that the development of the game continue full speed ahead.  Exactly when this patch comes out or what they call release is way down the list.  I certainly don't know what the best procedure is to accomplish this.  I am thinking SD should have a better clue, but they don't have a crystal ball either.  So far, so good,I suppose.  I actually thought for a while that pushing 1.0 back another month might be good, but it hasn't been a disaster for sure.   So I worry about this, but it's not my decision and you can all be grateful for that!