Communication Is Key, 343

Games Other Halo
1

I apologize for the long read ahead. This is an open letter to 343 Industries.

To whom it may concern:

I have been wanting to post this for about a week, but I was afraid to because of the very thing I feel like needs to be discussed.

I know the forums are swamped with many people making complaints about Halo 4. Though I may not be one that has a lot of complaints, I have found the forums almost appalling to even look at anymore because of the endless streams of hate that seem to be directed at 343 Industries. In order to understand why, I decided to comb through many of the threads, searching for what seems to be the main issues. I believe the main issue that seems to be looming over these threads is one of frustration due to this simple fact: people think they are being ignored.

That is not to say that you are not communicating with the player base, 343i. You have done a great job with keeping the “Issues being Investigated” thread updated with major software issues that are being fixed, as well as the FAQ explaining how to solve problems that people are having with Halo 4’s software. Also, I believe that you handled the Specialization Email situation very well, and though it took a few days to sort out, you were constantly updating players on the process that you were taking to ensure that codes got out to those who earned them. Finally, as I stated in a previous comment on a Halo Bulletin, these bulletins and the Title Update news post are a great way of making sure the community knows what is being changed from week to week, and I am sure everyone appreciates the weekly updates.

However, there is still vital information missing from these updates. I have broken the complaints down into three major categories that I find to be the main complaints: Balancing, Playlist & Map Requests, and Custom Community.

I wish to approach balancing first, as it is the shortest, but one of vital importance to a large part of the community. The first Title Update has come and gone and, though it did fix some major issues such as exploit glitches, DLC issues (just in time for Crimson), and performance issues, none seemed to be pointed at balancing weapons, vehicles, or abilities [The DMR pops to mind, and the useless Thruster Pack is a common discussion among my friends]. Players who were expecting TU1 to have this handled were extremely disappointed at there not only being no changes, but no explanation as to why no changes had been made. I realize that you are approaching these, as bs angel said in the 12.06.12 Bulletin, “One TU at a time,” however I feel that players would like to know why no changes were made, and if changes to game balance are being handled in the future.

Secondly, playlist and map requests are just swarming any and all forum categories they can. This is a broad topic, to be honest, because it covers all of the following topics: weekly playlists not being kept, no ranked system, wealth of large maps, lack of Forge maps in matchmaking, etc. We know that there is a ranked system in the works, but there are players who are concerned that no playlist will accompany it. We know that weekly playlists are being added, but players want to know why playlists like Snipers are being removed, and why Grifball and a permanent full FFA playlist haven’t been added yet. Players do appreciate that Extraction is coming in on 12.10.12, and secrecy is necessary for surprise, I understand. However, something would be better than nothing.

Finally, I have noticed that the custom community is very unsettled right now. There are two reasons, I have found. First, File Share is still inaccessible from the website. Again, we know that this is being worked on, and I am sure that after Crimson is released, all of your efforts will be poured in to getting this out as soon as possible, but we have heard nothing on the progress of File Share, and it’s disconcerting. Second, the custom community was sad to see some classic game types go, especially Race [Juggernaut, among my friends as well]. In addition, there seems to be a bit less flexibility in making custom game types. The customs community is looking to be heard, wondering if these game types and tools could be added later into Halo 4, or if game types will have to wait until Halo 5 to be updated.

I know this is a lot to take in, and that you are extremely hard at work in designing the other two map packs, the ranking system, and File Share. The community is clamoring for a lot of changes to bring back the “old feel” of Halo, but I think the bigger problem is that they feel ignored, and through that they feel betrayed, as they feel their loyalty has no meaning anymore. If there was some way you could let us know we are being heard, and whether or not any of the above topics are being addressed without a supremely vague statement, we would love to hear it.

Sincerely, on behalf of the community,

NinjaKirby1322

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I must say, that was a very organized and well written post. Various point were addressed and I agree wholeheartedly (especially with the aforementioned maps and game type issues. I would be surprised if someone from 343 read let alone responded. And not to be cynical for the sake of cynicism but 343 is a business and they are likely focused on taking care of things that the higher ups want taken care of first.

There are likely individuals in the company which are more focused on marketing and pushing for the company and it’s staff of various artists, engineers, technicians, writers etc… to simply work on what they (business individuals) deem to be important.

That said I do hope at least one employee reads the topic and takes it to heart.

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I’m glad to see another level thinker on the forums. We could use more like you.

What is happening on the forums here is the same that happened on the Diablo 3 forums. The game came out with glitches/missing content or whatever the populace believes should have been included but wasn’t. Diablo3, over the past 5+ title updates has now become quite a good game. I believe Halo 4 will be no different.

Now here is where the difference lies, and I am not trying to compare Activision with 343i, but the difference is communication. During the hard times of Diablo3’s beginnings, there were bulletins on their progress almost every other day. People knew that things were being worked on. They even asked for input for many of the changes.

343i is making progress. We see it with the TUs that fix major glitches on maps, the playlist preference sticky, and the issues being investigated sticky. In addition, in the 2012 VGA that aired yesterday, their Spartan OPS trailer stated that there will be “new areas,” obviously to quell the people complaining that current SOPS are just repeats of former installments but with more enemies. It shows that they are listening, but I do have to agree with you on the points you make above. Any word, even if small, would be better than none. I personally can wait, as I have faith in 343i’s capabilities, but for the rest of the community, it is perhaps a good time to throw them a bone.

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> Now here is where the difference lies, and I am not trying to compare Activision with 343i, but the difference is communication. During the hard times of Diablo3’s beginnings, there were bulletins on their progress almost every other day. People knew that things were being worked on. They even asked for input for many of the changes.

I just came from the Diablo 3 forums, they are just as bad as this one, rest assured. Between the two of them I can read maybe 1 good thread per day.

The trouble with forums is that I don’t see why Game developers would bother to read them at all, they only seem to exist so gamers have an outlet for their frustration.
In all honestly a single game players viewpoint is pathetically small compared to the data developers have as a whole. It’s anecdotal evidence compared to actual facts.

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> The trouble with forums is that I don’t see why Game developers would bother to read them at all, they only seem to exist so gamers have an outlet for their frustration.
> In all honestly a single game players viewpoint is pathetically small compared to the data developers have as a whole. It’s anecdotal evidence compared to actual facts.

There are two reasons for forums to exist. First, it allows players to build a community amongst themselves. Second, it allows game developers a medium to talk with the community. I know that 343i is using this second function. Just look at the weekly exploit fixes and the Specialization Email thread.

However, that communication with the player base seems to only be in one direction [Community to Developer] unless there is an emergency. It would be nice if 343i opened up to us a little more on the forums. Players would like to know that they are being heard. Instead, the silence from 343i makes players feel like they are yelling at a brick wall.

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I thought memory was the key…