Deep thoughts during server downtime...

[Kerech]

I'm bored at work and since the servers are down and I can't play, I've been doing some thinking...

Before I get into the meat of my post, let me give you some history. I played Horizons for 3 months in Beta and for a little over 4 months after Release on the Shadow server. I helped build the Satyr tunnels. I helped cleanse Feladan, helped build bridges, etc. I was even the server Herald for the Tazoon community boards for a brief time, which led to a rather amusing confrontation with the Shadow Dragon when he first came into the game, but I digress

I quit the game 4 months after release, mainly because AE had driven off all my friends/guildmates and I had nobody left to have fun with. A quick flurry of nerfs and broken promises and a bunch of people left at once (I'm sure old timers remember the timeframe I'm talking about). It simply wasn't fun logging in to an empty friends list and an empty guildchat night after night, so I took a break from playing the game I loved, hoping to come back some day.

I tried Horizons again briefly in July, 2005, to see if things had changed, but I didn't really have time to get into it, so I quit again after a month.

Then, I came back to Horizons for the third time the day after the sale to EII, mainly because I'd started seeing some positive press about Horizons again. An expansion pack supposedly in the works, a big-name writer doing quests, it all sounded great. With the sale to a new company I figured there'd be the drive to get these new projects going, and maybe some new life would be pumped into the game I once loved. Shortly after returning, I found a great guild that made the game fun to play again, like the fun I had back in the beginning.

But with every passing day it seems, a stake is being driven into the heart of that fun. My new guildmates have pretty much left, including some players who have been there since release and who I thought would never leave. There's only 3 or 4 of the guild online any more, but never at the same time, and a lot of times, I'm by myself in guildchat. The new people I'd learned to call my friends are gone. Consigners are not stocked anymore because there's fewer and fewer players left to stock them. So if I want to buy a piece of cargo armor for my biped, or if I want to upgrade my backpack, I have to spend hours hunting down someone to make it, or spend days skilling up to make it myself.

For now, I'm still having some fun playing my dragon, but I'm not sure how long it will be before that fun turns to frustration and I leave again, probably for good this time

So what's the cause of this feeling of impending doom? In my opinion, the root of all this frustration lies squarely at the feet of EII. Don't get me wrong, I'm not bashing them. But some things have to be said. Whether or not billing problems existed before the sale is irrelevant. Whether or not some former Tulga employees tried to make things difficult is irrelevant. We're over 3 months past the sale date now. EII needs to step up, take the bull by the horns and say "Here is the situation. Here is what we're doing to resolve it. Here is an estimate of how long we think it will take to resolve it. And here's what we're planning for the game in the next month, 3 months, 6 months, whatever."

So far, all we have gotten are vague promises that problems are being looked at. We've gotten posts deleted and players banned from the community forums. We've gotten more and more billing problems and unsecure account information (for over 60 days?!? – is it even fixed yet?) and we got a few vague hints about a fall festival that may or may not happen. Since the sale, there is not one concrete positive thing that you can point to that EII has done.

Sure, EII needs time to get their feet under them and get familiar with what does/doesn't work, or what they can/can't do with the game. I understand that and I'm more than willing to give them that time. But I'm only willing to wait if I see something down the road worth waiting for. So far I haven't gotten that.

Don't get me wrong. I love Horizons. When I got into beta, I had no preconceived notions about the game as I'd not heard of all the pre-blackout history of what went on with David Allen. I came into the game cold and fell in love with it. Every day I played, I could see the potential that this game had. And I wasn't alone. The beta community in this game was amazing - easily one of the best beta communities I've been in, and I've been in a lot of them. Most of the people playing in beta were in the same boat as me; they loved the game too.

Now that I'm back playing again, I feel a pang of remorse for what this game could have become. I run around looking for resources and see tons of empty space just calling out for content. I see a once happy and vibrant community reduced to a handful of players just trying to hang on to a game they enjoy playing. I see the potential I once felt for this game withering away.

Quite frankly, I see a game on the verge of death.

It doesn't have to be this way. The game can be saved. How, you ask? In my opinion, it could be as simple as EII stepping up and doing something positive – anything at all. Give the players something to show that we should have confidence in your ability to run the game. I'm talking about something substantive, something that puts notice out there that EII can run this game effectively.

I know we got a Halloween event, but from what I understand it wasn't really an official event. It was kind of hacked together by Amadan (or someone) just to get *something* into the game for players to do. But I applaud that effort! A big heart-felt "Thank you" to whoever did it! Official event or not, I had a blast trick-or-treating around the world. Collecting masks and costumes was fun. This is what we need more of, just bigger and better.

Please, EII, before it's too late… do something to let us know that we should continue playing this game. Do something to show the gaming community that the game will survive. Give us some specific insights into what you have planned for this game we love. Give us a reason to trust you. All the players want is to have fun and to know that the game they love will be here in the coming months. Show us that you understand that.

Please?

[Kulamata]

Part of the problem is that EI started off poorly; the hopes for the future had been, in no particular order:

• A rewritten client.
• Peter Beagle Quests.
• Lore enrichment.
• The content additions in the Expansion.
• Continuing bug fixes.

The first word the general public had about the purchase was Peter Beagle, who had been cast adrift.

Then we heard that all the developers had been let go, and not considered for rehire.

Then the insecure billing scheme; an inherited problem made worse by a well meaning, but uninformed fix.

Then, in response to some waaay over-caffeinated players' and disgruntled ex-employees' postings, some very heavy handed tactics on the boards were used.

To offset this, we now have Nagafen, whose communications are a good start, and an excellent list of EII's intentions. Real progress is finally being made on the inherited Unity mess, and the historians are an interesting idea indeed.

Basically we have a pattern of early mistakes, later followed by indications of listening and responding. It would help a lot if the responses were louder and more frequent, and more specific. Many people have noticed that companies trumpet good news, and are silent about uncomfortable news; so when silence reigns, conclusions are drawn.

Some thoughts on specifics; the Tulga group had some very nice plans for the expansion. Indicate that some of those ideas will be used. Give a little information on the dev team; how large is it planned to be? Any hires yet? If so, introduce them... if no hires yet, why not? Rehire Peter S. Beagle; I'm not sure EII understood what his hiring meant to the community, or his casual dismissal. I'd like to see some of the nerfs, and especially the "parting shot" nerfs rolled back. Give a sense of priorities; certainly a sound foundation has been mentioned several times, but some specifics would help. We can infer that EI has decided to deal with the Unity issue first, and will move on to further issues or planning when that Unity is resolved. Just stating that specifically would help Or at least let us know what issues are being considered for prioritization. There's a tightrope here of course; don't raise expectations of earlier or grander changes than can be delivered.

In other words, give hope; early and often, and firmly. Bear in mind that the community has been through a lot, and may seem inappropriately needy, but that's the result of long history.

When issues arise, such as the billing issues, jump on them hard, immediately, apologize, and tell what's being done to fix it. There's another issue brewing now; it will be vital to not let it drag on. Hire outside consultants if necessary, but do not let these issues fester. Respond to each of the billing issue posts, here and elsewhere. Patiently repeat the links and addresses needed; every time, everywhere.

MMO's, often start big, and then not grow particularly. EVE is a counterexample of excellent growth, and a very loyal playerbase; it is not a coincidence that they are also the most transparent of all MMO's. It does work.

[Steelclaw]

... EII needs to step up, take the bull by the horns and say "Here is the situation. Here is what we're doing to resolve it. Here is an estimate of how long we think it will take to resolve it. And here's what we're planning for the game in the next month, 3 months, 6 months, whatever."
...
All the players want is to have fun and to know that the game they love will be here in the coming months. Show us that you understand that.

I completely agree with that. EII (Enhanced Interactive ... Interactive?) has much to do towards gaining the support of its community.

They have a few supporters who will blindly praise every single thing they do -- good, bad, or meaningless. These people are as plentiful and meaningful as the ones who baselessly bash every single thing EI does -- both are a vocal minority on the tails of a bell curve.

[edit by Steelclaw: I just read over the above and saw it could be misconstrued. Yes, there are supporters who do not give blind praise. Obviously the above does not apply to them. I'm not implying that all the EI supporters are useless.]

The rest either don't care one way or another, or are quietly waiting for something to happen. These are the ones that need the attention. They are the ones who need to be "won over".

Fortunately, these people are reasonable. Want to make some moves towards appeasing them? How about a developer blog updated daily? How about a delta? How about some of the blight content patched to live? (1-1-1:1 tricuts? fixed PSB wedding quest?) How about a detailed list of priorities and who's working on each of them? (I think that's called an "action item list" in office-speak) Give these people a solid reason to stick around and they will.

Yeah, many "big companies" don't have stuff like developer blogs and exposure of their inner workings. They're big mysterious black boxes -- money goes in, fun stuff comes out. EI isnt a big company. They dont look like a big company, they certainly dont act with the responsibility of a big company, and so far, haven't produced like a big company. At this point in time, they can not afford to act like one if they are concerned about turning around the decline.

Quite simply, the context here is different. The player community (both former, current and future players) needs to be regarded as an asset for support, development and promotion. To neglect and abandon it, or worse, consider it an adversary would be the downfall of Hz. As some are finding out, Hz isn't anywhere as fun to play when there are only a few people around.

EI's community relations project is far from complete and not very far from where it started. Get with it before it's too late! This "action item" is still not done.

[Theros Ironfeld]

Steel you do not want the current blight patch
we are without sand ogres , unable to dig potatoes and carrots nor make pepper , raw meat has been changed to flank so exisiting forms are useless.
We didnt get the so called halloween event at all !
Blight will need major fixing before you people on the live shards get patched.

[Nalrach]

I'm bored at work and since the servers are down and I can't play, I've been doing some thinking...

I want your job ... getting paid for work and playing at same time.

[Unicorn's Lady]

Consigners are not stocked anymore

Sorry for those on Order! I had enough things happening the last few weeks that I didn't have time to get in and keep my restocks up. But as of early this morning Nellie's nibbles are back in New Trismus and she's restocked Carmo's tavern again (and I've expanded that menu to now include candied apples, caramel apples, & pumpkin pies).
And tonight I'll have Ochre get her weekly restock of T1 spells at New Trismus started again.


Kerech

Always sad to hear that someone has decided to leave, but I also understand sometimes you just have to move on. I moved after living in UO for many years to here and I've been here since mid-January 2004.
I am still hoping that not only will Horizons still survive, but will start to flourish again. It was working on it and hopefully this will only become a hiccup in a long healthy life.

Whatever you decide, wherever you go, whatever you do, may Life be good.

Nellie Lovett/Ochre Tekton
of Azure Twilight in Carmo on Order

[snickel]

What it all seems to boil down to:

Please EII, give us some more information about your plans, of a little less vague kind. You seem to be on the right track communication-wise, but more info (and more specific info) would do a lot for this game.

[Kerech]

Nalrach: the luxury of being my own boss - I can play at work and not yell at myself

Unicorn's Lady: I'm not leaving the game yet. It's still more fun than frustrating. My concern is that the scales are tilting more towards frustration as time goes on.

The key to this whole thing is communication. As I said earlier, and Snickel reiterated... the more specific the better. I have done some game programming, so I know you can't give an exact timetable on something like this, but tell us "By the end of the year we want XXX to happen" or something like that. Be as specific as you can, and just communicate with us

[Sledge99]

Hi,

I look at this from a completely different perspective.

Even though EI has picked up some of the existing personnel, everything at the development site is still suffering from a great deal of FUD.

People are bieng turned every which way trying to put out the disaster of the day and not only bring some stability to the game but add the needed security and billing processes despertly needed.

I too, would love to see well laid out plans for the next 6-12 months but I get the impression that to do that today would be like next month's weather report. (a complete guess) Given that, I feel that EI doesn't want to get into the cycle of making expectations and then being accused of lying when they do not work out.

My expectations were that the game would need to see some progress within 6 months. They still have over 2 months left on that. The addition of the other issues make this look more like 9-12 months before they have a good handle on fixing Blight and delivering an update to the shards.

There is some communications now, but there is so much frustration from the developer side in the fact that they actually do not know when problem X or Y will be resolved. They work as hard as they can but the bottom line is, 'It will be fixed when it is working'. There is no magic involved in this process. Just a lot of sweat and hours of very hard work.

Please keep it moving forward, EI. I am looking for Horizons to become the game we all know it can be.

[IndyMan]

The problem with timetables and such is that some ***hat would post at midnight the day after and scream how notihng is being done.

While I agree it would be nice to have an idea that in the next 6 months this is what we will be working on.

I also cannot really blame EI for not putting that information up.

Maybe after they have had the helm for 9 - 12 months they can then feel confident that whatever they say they plan to do will likely be accomplished.

[Kulamata]

There are layers to planning. And studied vagueness is not uncommon in the industry. "Third Quarter", Second Half of the year", "Delayed to add extra wonderfulness", "Delayed to add xxx instead in response to customer demand".

From here, announced plans could be "to hire a dev staff by..." "Submit questionnaire to players new and old by ..." "Submit summary outlines for comment by..." and so on. And towards the end, Tulga got fairly good at it; "hope to complete by", the pony list, and so on.
Edit: Afterthought; progress reports help too; even if only "decided on the dev skills needed"; "placed hiring ads on Gamasutra", "Completed feature priority list, and wouldn't you like to know "

And again, I suggest EVE as a model of superb communications. They certainly don't always make their hoped for targets, but they always explain (in general terms) why, and what the new target is. So, yes, they get the occasional yawper in the forums, but not many, and not loudly. It's clear that they have reason to feel pride in their accomplishments, and their openness is what makes it clear.

Of course, if you are incompetent, maybe silence may seem a better tactic. The problem is, that's communication too.

[Kerech]

I don't expect EII to make every target date, that would be impossible and if they did manage to pull it off, they would be unique in the gaming world.

But, having a target date would imply that there is a "target" and it's that "target" that I wish they'd tell us about

[Sunuke]

Setting out targets for us to see is just showing to us what they are working on and what we can expect.

This is something which is good to ease the community.

you would be able to set targets like for example :

- confectioner expert formula's planned Q3 2007

- expansion pack release Q4 2007

etc etc

these would be soft prognoses and they would give us something to look forward too and they would give old players the impuls to maybe return as they see what is being worked on.
This also would be something that would have a strong marketing effect.

These soft prognoses could be set further or closer and ofcourse also be changed into hard prognoses which would then be dates.

[Kwinn]

The only real problem with lack of communication is that it promotes that greatest of all indoor sports, Jumping To Conclusions.

This, of course, leads to rampant speculation without foundation, accusations without evidence and certainly leaves the door wide open for the former TG Waste Recyclers, a.k.a. Interns, to dump their load of garbage in our laps.

The plus side of silence? Nobody can call you a liar

[Justa Mirage]

you would be able to set targets like for example :

- confectioner expert formula's planned Q3 2007

- expansion pack release Q4 2007

etc etc

How about

- Learn how to use SimDoc planned Q3 2007

- Getting a patch from Genesis to Blight and then to live Q4 2007

[saphosar]

- Getting a patch from Genesis to Blight and then to live Q4 2007

uhh, that's a very long time to wait!!!


But in general you are right. It has been 3 month since they took over the business and I would like to seem some official announcements what they are planning for the future.

Regards, Sap

[snickel]

The problem with timetables and such is that some ***hat would post at midnight the day after and scream how notihng is being done.

While I agree it would be nice to have an idea that in the next 6 months this is what we will be working on.

I also cannot really blame EI for not putting that information up.

Maybe after they have had the helm for 9 - 12 months they can then feel confident that whatever they say they plan to do will likely be accomplished.

I see your point -- to promise to have accomplished something by a certain date will have people in an uproar if something prevents you from meeting that deadline.

But how about this: We have a special forum :

Discussions This forum is used by the Horizons Developers to open discussion on ideas and changes within the game. Only Developers may start topics, but all are welcome to respond.

That forum has been dead for much too long. Here the EII staff could toss around new ideas they are trying out and the players would see which way the game might go. No deadlines, just ideas to get the general drift.

[saphosar]

.... Here the EII staff could toss around new ideas they are trying out and the players would see which way the game might go. No deadlines, just ideas to get the general drift.

Yes, but sometimes people want to see something more concrete than only discussions about what could be.

Regards, Sap

[MadDwarf]

Kerech that was well articulated thank you.

But you do realize according to EII the game is experiencing new players arriving every day ? One of their statements made in response to that security issue that came up a few days ago.

In the end the realities that actually are and the realities of any developer always never seem to be in sync. The key to addressing a problem is to first admit that there is. I have never really seen EII admit that there is and when there has been it was usually someone else's fault.

Lets hope their actions far out pace their words cause their words do not seem to mean very much. Hopefully that will change in the future.

[Kerech]

Yes, there are new players arriving every day. I've seen them in the chat channels in-game. However, the exodus of long-time and veteran players far exceeds the number of new ones joining from what I've seen lately.