There are alot of forums and post and ideas. And I see stardock names respond on some posts. But I'm wonder how do they read it all. It can't be that hard idf Santa Claus dose it. Lol. But I'm curious how serious we are really taken. I know one user made a forum on new races by players and never got a reaction by stardock. much less saying if any ideas would be used. If this is known to everyone please forgive my ignorance. but I'm curious how the process works.
At the moment, there's not much activity; I can, as a single person, read every GC3 thread in a day and catch up on the new posts as well. I imagine that the devs just casually browse and answer when they see something they can comment on (Or be evasive on...).
They obviously do not/will not read or at least consider everything. They would need several full time employees to process all the rambling that will take place once the Alpha/Beta are released.
But this being said, I know StarDock will consider what happens in the forum and what the players/testers will say. Even if they do not respond directly. When something gets posted about over and over they will take notice, like for the dual Queue thing.
Reading forums and gathering feedback are a big part of what we do, and we've been doing for a while. You do have to understand though that not everything can get a response, but we do try our best to address as much as possible.
Also, I'd advise changing your username as it we don't allow any type of imitations.
I shouldn't admit this but for me the community is the whole point. if not for the forums I wouldn't make games.
I was curious how long that would take I saw it and thought that's just asking to get hit with banhammer
I think TheToadinator would make a great username, if you're taking suggestions.
So I read this to say that the more people we get to come here and bug you, the more resources that get devoted to the games and therefore the more features and/or faster release schedules we will see.
This for the advice I thought imitation was the best form of flattery, but not in this case so now I'm 'devcopycat' I was going to be 'the undev' or 'islandcat' though
it good to know you guys are always watching or trying to. I thought there was a system that auto subscribed to posts or a intern who read them and put the best ideas on a bourd for people to see. I was just curious because I subscribe to everything galciv and was wondering what happens to all the fan gold and if some of it was thrown out with the fan garbage. (Wardell day is good idea I think.)
speaking of information... will SF1-Raptor's race and my beloved Braettian be considered as civs!?! If they are I'll give a puppy to all the people world for the next 4 generations. Lol
and will the ewoks defeat the drengin empire?
DARCA
I think I have gotten my way on some things. I have gotten some no's on others. I've gotten rebuked by one Dev because of my ideas. I've read responses to some of my ideas on the responses they have given. I've seen multiple posts get something to shut them up. I recognize some names because I see them on these posts to often. Some of my posts get no one. I believe I had a little influence on the game. I can see a few posts slip by, but I see a lot of answers to questions put out by the Devs that at least two of them are on this site a lot.
Back during the time of FE beta there was a post template for bug reporting, with a forum section for that. Basically you make a post with a standardized title that identifies it clearly as a bug report for version x. You write a description on how the bug happened and include save game and that`s it.
I expect there will be the same once the GalCiv III alpha is out. Reporting bugs or problems in the most formalized and concise manner makes their job easier and is probably one of the greatest service we can do for them as Founders/testers.
Beside that, feedback is also very important but I believe that feedback kept in a short, clear and specific manner is the most useful. ( Brad`s prototype feedback PDF in the founder`s vault is a good exemple ). Long and convoluted walls of text are going to be harder for Stardock to sort through.
I just thought a "lol or a "neat thought" wouldn't hurt to let us know there listening a bit more. I know there busy. and sometimes like to just read it all (like me), but sometimes there like the Dread lords showing up randomly. It's always fun to see the stardock logo and they probably think its fun reading interesting forms
The problem is that short and concise doesn't really work together. Using paragraphs instead of walls of text works!
I cannot make sense as to why you say that. Care to explain?
I believe being as clear and descriptive as possible. With an outline on how to do this. With as many options as possible going from easier to harder. Now if you can do this as clear as possible this should be done. There is something I don't understand people with they ask me to not use excessive words, and then they think I am mad because lack of adjectives. I find this kind of explanations to bring some success. I wont really know until the game comes out.
Stardock has a very good reputation for paying attention to player's ideas. Of course not everything can be used, but if the idea is good enough they will try to fit it in. Mostly though, they will respond to tweaks suggested for the game as they design it. The development process is far too complex to simply toss things in just because something sounds good. It has to fit in with the rest of the game and be balanced within the whole.
And sometimes they do just that. The problem with that approach though is that by acknowledging a good idea it would imply that they intend to use it. Which might lead to hard feelings if it turned out the idea was unworkable because of engine limitations or balance problems.
psst.
you're my favorite developer.
Other forumites read posts. If they see a good idea, they might make a point to bring it up again in case someone has forgot about it. This increases the odds of the devs seeing the idea then.Also, these forums do a decent job keeping track of all the threads you read. I haven't been around for a few months and it remembers correctly which ones I have opened and those I have not (other forums might forget after 10 or 30 days).
Forums (associated with gaming companies) are (seemingly) mostly shunned these days, in favor of "one liners" on twitter and other ways of actually avoiding (direct) communication.
So this is indeed a rare case of traditional observance. And with rare, I mean really standing out in an exceptional way. It is almost like a dream you know?
I'm a forum guy. The forums feed the games, not vice versa for me. If it weren't for hanging out with you guys, I'd retire. My biggest motivation is making things that other people want to play. I enjoy that. I enjoy the feedback.
The downside is that some people mistakenly believe that because we tend to incorporate player ideas into the games that we don't have a firm design document in hand. We do have very firm ideas on what we want to do. But I also believe that many great ideas are made by fans. The most famous being starbases which came from the forums (GalCiv was never intended to have star bases or galactic resources, that was a fan idea).
Please don't retire! Complacency occurs more easily and I felt happy when I saw your name, wondering what surprise was waiting for me.
And did anyone tell you how young you look! Your ideas are the greatest! You help shape peoples fate! People believe in Stardock so much the logo is now a popular tattoo! If you are doing what you love you'll never work a day in your life! Confucius said that. Confucius. So stop teasing us about "retirement" you were born to create and to stop would be to deny your purpose. Lol.
I doubt I'll ever retire!
I had no idea those were products of the forums. I guess that goes to prove your point, seeing as starbases and galactic resources play such a big role in the game.
Yeah starbases in GalCiv are great. They allow some really interesting strategic choices. I'll always remember when I stopped a superior Drengin attack by rushing military support bases.
The concept also kind of migrated to the world of Elemental with the Outposts.
I remember posting so many ideas about starbases and how to improve them. And I wasn't the only one. They have come a long way since the old days! I can personally attest to how the Devs really do pay attention to us here on the forums! Not every idea gets integrated, or even an official response, but I for one, believe that every one of my ideas has at least been read by someone on staff. It's one of the big reasons why I stay active on the forums.
We really appreciate you guys (the Devs) taking the time to read and respond! It makes all the time I put into typing out my ideas completely worth it!
THANK YOU!!!!
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