A Pirate Producer's "Post Partum" Analysis

[Guy DeRusson]

Originally Posted by Joe

Unfortunately I can't share them with you.

...

That's a shame - thanks for saying though. Do you know of any links to this sort of data from anywhere?

Edit: I appreciate you cannot / don't wish to reveal numbers (commercial data etc) but can you tell us what percentage of Beta Testers never submit a ticket at all?
That would be very interesting to know - it has been a subject that has been raised on many Dev forums I have visited.
Second edit: Also - the PotBS feedback forms that were in Beta? Can you discuss those?
Were they worthwhile?

[kazamx]

Originally Posted by Joe

I'm giving the same talk again at another conference in September, so I'm going to hold back the slides until that one's over. Maybe I'll even score some video by then.


Joe

Slacker, come up with a new presentation ;-p

Dam I wish I got to give the same presentation over and over, that would be SWEET. Although thinking about it, it would be a little like one of those actors on the rides at disneyland doing the same thing 5,000 times a day. On second thoughts i don't want to do the same presentation over and over and I don't want you to suffer by being forced to do it.

To encourage you to resist the temptation to suffer giving the same presentation over and over I suggest you give us the slides, for your own good.

[kazamx]

Originally Posted by Joe

Something like 90% of the people playing an MMO never post in the forums.

Joe

thats a really really handy statistic there Joe thanks. People throw rough percentages of forum posters to none posters around all the time. its fantastic to have a dev quote to use from now on as proof.

[Joe]

Originally Posted by Guy DeRusson

That's a shame - thanks for saying though. Do you know of any links to this sort of data from anywhere?

I wish I did! I would have used it while we were planning our beta.

Unfortunately the entire industry is tight-lipped about this kind of stuff.


Joe

[Joe]

Originally Posted by kazamx

thats a really really handy statistic there Joe thanks. People throw rough percentages of forum posters to none posters around all the time. its fantastic to have a dev quote to use from now on as proof.

I should note that the 90% number is not something we've measured on Pirates. It's the number that comes up in every community panel at every game industry conference since UO launched. The actual number almost certainly varies game to game.


Joe

[Guillian Teague]

Originally Posted by Guy DeRusson

That's a shame - thanks for saying though. Do you know of any links to this sort of data from anywhere?

Edit: I appreciate you cannot / don't wish to reveal numbers (commercial data etc) but can you tell us what percentage of Beta Testers never submit a ticket at all?
That would be very interesting to know - it has been a subject that has been raised on many Dev forums I have visited.
Second edit: Also - the PotBS feedback forms that were in Beta? Can you discuss those?
Were they worthwhile?

What is it with you and your insistence on hard data? I doubt that half of it can be quantified to begin with...and the other half is probably none of your business.

So...what's the deal, eh?

*scratching head*

~Guillian

[Guy DeRusson]

Originally Posted by Guillian Teague

What is it with you and your insistence on hard data? I doubt that half of it can be quantified to begin with...and the other half is probably none of your business.

So...what's the deal, eh?

*scratching head*

~Guillian

Read back a couple of posts:

Originally Posted by kazamx

thats a really really handy statistic there Joe thanks. People throw rough percentages of forum posters to none posters around all the time. its fantastic to have a dev quote to use from now on as proof.

Joe's reply:

Originally Posted by Joe

I should note that the 90% number is not something we've measured on Pirates. It's the number that comes up in every community panel at every game industry conference since UO launched. The actual number almost certainly varies game to game.


Joe

What's that quote?:
90% of statistics on the internet are made up 75% of the time?

I find that asking people to produce a source tends to keep them honest - even Developers it would seem? ;-)

Originally Posted by Joe

I wish I did! I would have used it while we were planning our beta.

Unfortunately the entire industry is tight-lipped about this kind of stuff.


Joe

Why?

I would be inclined to believe it is because the data does not actually exist?

Sorry - but I smell BS.

This could be one of those "Chinese Whisper" stats that was plucked from thin air when some one was put on the spot?
"It's the number that comes up in every community panel at every game industry conference since UO launched."
Do you have a source Joe? Want to do some Mythbusting?

The industry should be tracking this data. I would have thought this was 'need to know' stuff?

[Ombre de Lune]

Hi,

As a player, i can't say anything about much of the points of this presentation, however, i can tell you that, whatever over mistakes occured, point 2 is most probably what doomed the game.

The base design just can't work as it is, and it make the game totally impossible to save without a major overhaul of its base mechanics.

In extenso, the game can't be saved, as the salvaged game would be nothing like potbs. You would save time and efforts doing it anew instead of trying to fix it in its current state.

[Ged Bligh]

Joe,

You mentioned closed beta was too long & many players are burnt-out.
You have also outlined the general principles of your job without mentioning any of key issues we as players are experiencing today:

Originally Posted by Garbad_the_Weak

While I understand churn is normal in MMOs, it seems higher here than in other games -- the harsh consequences of RvR loss, the high risk/reward and expense of pvp, the high grind barriers to creating pvp zones, massive ganking, and endgame boredom seem to combine to make a lot of people quit.

Do you think this is a serious problem?
What will be done to help attract and retain new blood?
Can you offer any encouragement to those of us who are watching our friends quit, but want to stay?

Thanks.

Joe, Can you have a crack at Garbads questions quoted above please.
He is probably the most respected member of the forum community & his quiery needs urgent attention.

[Clackling]

GB,

The presentation wasn't about "The State of PotBS". It was about the development cycle of the game, and the things that were learned from it. If you want opinions on game mechanics and bugs currently in the game, this probably isn't the thread for it.