Comments on: WoWWatch: Would you like fries with that?

By: Padraig

Padraig — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 15:26:04 +0000

Some other forum driven changes: Poisons not wiping when instancing, making poisons last a set period rather than set charges, increasing the stack number for poisons, fixing vanish (i kid i kid on that, since we all know vanish is working as intended), and i’m sure several other class specific game mechanics that I can’t remember at the moment.

By: Sarc

Sarc — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 22:09:49 +0000

…….. 4-13. that only counts as one instance of being wrong.

solid evidence to the contrary of what i presented, except for the forum thing. thats 3 changes out of the thousands that WoW has made. I think they rely more heavily on metrics and internal data gathering than player feedback.

i suppose they’re not the McMMO, but they’re definitely a Subway or a Quizno’s. Healthier, but still fast food. I wonder who WoW’s Jared is?

By: Raim

Raim — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 16:32:18 +0000

Oooh, ok a response to that comment. First forums are a huge tool for change and most dev changes originate there. I don’t really know how to back that up other than citing examples where forum posts resulted in changes. 1-Warlock soul shard recustomization 2-Removal of keys for various instances (most famously Kara) 3-The now mainly forgotten linked AH thread!

Secondly, WoW, despite your constant assertion to the contrary is not the McMMO of the market. WoW for example still makes you read the quest text to find your objective something Aion and WAR both do for you. WoW does not give you a mount at level one something RoM does. Leveling to max level in WoW despite speeding up the process still takes over 160 hours of play for the average player. Despite what many people call a lessening of instance difficulty only 2% of WoW players see the highest tier endgame raids, a percentage I would argue cannot be far off of other “harder” MMO’s – and probably shouldn’t be any lower than it is.

By: sarc

sarc — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 15:36:02 +0000

interesting. But.
I think you over rate the importance that forums hold for developer influence. Its a well held urban legend that the majority of forums game suggestions are derived from a minority of players, the vocal and outraged minority usually. The squeaky wheel does get the grease, however i think that Devs are getting better at listening to the 90% of the “quiet wheels” that make up most of their $$ base.

Not to trivialize posting on forums at all! But, i dont think its held to be such a valuable resource anymore. Alpha/Beta forums, yes. But public release? not so much.

If people took your advice that might change, if every post criticizing a game mechanic or experience was well thought out and well written, then yes. The forums would be Dev Gold.
moving on without a segue.
also, isnt WoW the definition of a McMMO? Isnt that the grease soaked MMO between whose potato bun exterior you find the questionable quality meat of PvP, PvE, and crafting?

or is it an MMO Bell? Go south of the Northrend Border? Think outside the MMO Bun? hmm.. i think im stretching my hyperbole credibility a little thin. im out!