115215-how-to-save-wildstar-if-wildstar-needs-saving

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I'd like you to take a look at this article and tell what you think about it..http://massively.joystiq.com/2014/10/02/the-think-tank-how-to-save-wildstar-if-wildstar-needs-saving/?cps=gravity- COPY PASTE - COPY PASTE - COPY PASTE - COPY PASTE - COPY PASTE - COPY PASTE - COPY - COPY PASTE When I posed this week's Think Tank question -- what would you do to save WildStar -- to the Massively team, it sparked a heated discussion over whether the game even needs saving in the first place. Fair enough. It's possible to have a long run of bad news and not be in trouble. It's possible that players are just overreacting to Carbine's canceling Christmas. But justified or not, there's growing perception that the game isn't doing so well. I'll address that perception more tomorrow, but for this Think Tank, let's talk about what Carbine can do to fix it.@ceruleangrey: I'm not qualified to weigh in on WildStar's fate, but as a player who is decidedly not a hardcore endgame raider and yet deeply enjoyed what I played of the game, I'm hoping to see Carbine expand social features like housing as well as providing more stuff to do at endgame for the non-raiding player. It does seem to be going in that direction and I'm probably just repeating what a lot of other people are saying, but I've heard the game described as belonging to the "raid or die" subgenre. The "or die" part needs to go.While I wouldn't necessarily participate in it myself, providing a greater breadth of difficulty options for group content at endgame would probably be a big help. And as someone who appreciates raid attunements on some level, I think their time has passed, at least as far as actively gating content goes.@nbrianna: I continue to think the subscription model was a big mistake for WildStar. The market is way too tight to convince people to pay a sub for what is essentially an updated classic themepark with mechanics a decade old. If gamers wanted to pay a sub for slim but polished content, they already have World of Warcraft. If they wanted a free-to-play themepark with updates and great housing, they already have RIFT, never mind a dozen other solid themepark MMOs. That's the first step. Carbine needs a better monetization plan, one that doesn't give everything away for free but still gets enough people in the door that the game can survive and maybe even thrive as buy-to-play like Guild Wars 2 or free-to-play like Star Wars: The Old Republic.Keeping those players happily playing and paying is going to require more content and a rethink of the hardcore combat and endgame raid mentality that consumed the game in the last year. My hunch is that the recent departure of certain devs is the first step in Carbine's doing just that. In the game's early development, there was much more focus on non-raid elements like housing and socializing and soloing and paths, and that is why so many people fanboyed for the game early on (and felt so let down after design and/or marketing -- I don't know where the fault lies -- shifted to target that vanishingly tiny Burning Crusadedemographic). WildStar needs to get back to what gives it real flavor next to its competitors. That, as the game's metrics apparently show, is what the audience actually wants. Deliver it.@Eliot_Lefebvre: I've said it elsewhere and I'll say it again: WildStar's chief failing was that it tried to court the hardcore endgame crowd, which was always a foolish decision because they were never going to truly love the game once they had devoured its content. Marketing to the game to the hardcore was always putting itself behind a wall and limiting the audience. The players who still want to enjoy the game aren't the ones who want to strut around and preen over raid acquisitions; they're the ones who like the game's solo content, enjoy housing, and generally want to keep having fun.At a bare minimum? Put the raid equipment on a vendor for reasonable Elder Gem prices, increase the acquisition rate for Elder Gems, tear down raid attunements, seriously reduce the amount of stress involved in high-end group content (the medal system makes grouping far more irritating than it needs to be), and add more content for solo and small-group players with more functional rewards. Moving forward, doing something truly visionary like allowing dungeons and instanced content to scale to group size would be a great idea, but that probably requires more work than can be sunk into the game right now and isn't a realistic prospect for a near-future timeline.@jefreahard: I don't know that it's in trouble, and neither does anyone else outside of a few higher ups at NCsoft/Carbine. Should we as outsiders be talking about success or failure at this early stage when we have absolutely none of the information that goes into determining either one of those labels? People are pointing at Frost's exit as irrefutable evidence that it's in trouble, but devs game-hop almost as much as players do, so I'm unconvinced.Assuming it's not financially crippled, I would circle the wagons and focus on both new content production and maybe some rebranding away from the HOLY SH$T THIS IS HARDCORE!! stuff. I doubt WS has already dug itself an insurmountable financial hole, but it does have perception issues.Finally, screw F2P. Don't give away stuff you worked hard on and stuff that you obviously feel is high quality/worth money. It's really a shame that that's where we're at in this industry, the supposition that bringing in a bunch of (non-paying) bodies will magically fix everything. No. Just no.@Sypster: I was far more willing to pay WildStar monthly when the team was committed to pumping out new content and updates on a monthly basis. Now they're asking for the same money for less output, and that doesn't sit right with me. WildStar was always an underdog title due to its new IP and stiff competition, and its decision to stick to a sub hobbled it from the start when it could have been sprinting past dinosaurs living in the past. If it was up to me? Go buy-to-play today with a premium sub option, and make money by selling cosmetic content for houses, mounts, and outfits since the game is set up to prize those features.As for failing, well, I wouldn't argue that WildStar's had an easy road these past few months. But it does have a really great-looking update coming next month and -- this is important -- a very solid, fun game at its core. The housing system here is one of the best I've ever seen, bar none, and it has a lot of terrific features. I'd pull back on the hardcore endgame nature, rethink the class customization system, and severely overhaul the crafting. And then I'd be powering forward with the ability to play as a Lopp.@Shaddoe: WildStar is a good game. It's not one that I could stick with, but many people enjoy it. The combat mechanics are interesting, the housing fills a great niche, and the atmosphere is refreshing by not taking itself seriously. However, its content fell short because of its focus on fringe, endgame PvE players. They do need a place to play. But I think Carbine learned that when you cater to the 1%, that you only get 1% of your potential audience playing.My guild no longer plays WildStar, and I hear the same thing from most of the members. They wanted a hardcore game before they jumped in, but after experiencing a hardcore game, they suddenly realized that they were no longer "hardcore." I'll personally take a step further and say that they might still be hardcore, skilled players, but they just don't have the time or dedication that they thought they had. WildStar's fix is conceptually simple: cater to the casual.@MikedotFoster: I don't know much about WildStar in specific so I'm hesitant to weigh in on this, but I can offer some general thoughts. The most common complaint I tend to see is that the game is targeted too much to the hardcore raider, a niche I think is of less importance than ever before. MMOs don't need raiders at the cost of a wider, more profitable audience. Softening access might inspire more players to take a run a that content, and providing something for the non-raiders to do (assuming there isn't already) would be a good approach.Also, who's to say the game is in trouble? Internet commenters working off imaginary numbers and preconceived biases? EVE Online is one of the most durable MMOs on the market; you don't need millions of players to make your game work, but you might need a change of direction with a smaller population in mind. On the subject of free-to-play, well... I'm a firm believer that the sub model is deader than dead. I refuse to play any new game with a sub fee and I'm sure I'm not the only one. Buy-to-play makes much more sense to me as a player. If WildStar were available as a one-time $30 purchase, I would already own it.What do you get when you throw the Massively writers' opinions together in one big pot to stew? You get The Think Tank, a column dedicated to ruminating on the MMO genre. We range from hardcore PvPers to sandbox lovers to the most caring of the carebears, so expect more than a little disagreement! Join Editor-in-Chief Bree Royce and the team for a new edition right here every Thursday.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
I'd also like you to take a look at this onehttp://massively.joystiq.com/2014/10/03/ask-massively-dancing-on-wildstars-grave/- COPY PASTE - COPY PASTE - COPY PASTE - COPY PASTE - COPY PASTE - COPY PASTE - COPY - COPY PASTE  
This week's revelation that WildStar Design Producer Stephen Frost is quitting his role is not the first and likely won't be the last blow to the beleaguered game. Carbine lost several high-profile developers before and after launch, and with raiding guilds abandoning the title, server merges on the way, endgame grindbeing scaled back, updates being heavily delayed, and Christmas being canceled, even more players are losing faith in the title. That's nothing new in our industry. MMOs are big and unwieldy and sometimes launch with terrible underlying problems. They can usually pull out of a nosedive, given time. So let's give them time.But there's a whole contingent of gamers already dancing on WildStar's grave when it's not even dead. It's one thing to deeply oppose a game's design, but if you take delight in watching major MMOs flounder, you don't really deserve this genre at all.Massively reader wolfyseyes lit into such sadistic gamers in a comment on Tuesday:I am absolutely shivering with rage. Not because of Frost's departure--he has an opportunity and I hope that it brings him all the joy and success he seeks. It's people who just non-stop delight in seeing this game go down. To what end, exactly? So you can finally erupt your "Toldja so!" load on everyone whether it was asked for or not? Is nobody else allowed to enjoy this game because you find it lacking, or too colorful, or because you have some psychotic axe to grind against NCsoft? Is no-one allowed to find fun in this game? So this game is shuttered. You have your release. Then what? Your self-assumed internet stock raises? Or do you just hate that people can enjoy a thing you don't or won't? What the *beep* is wrong with you people? :(
Sixty-two likes later, it's gotten more likes than any single comment I can remember, so I know wolfyeyes isn't alone in being appalled at the lawls and told-ya-sos and put-a-fork-in-its and references to the Titanic and screaming about freeloaders and hopes that NCsoft will turn to ashes. "I hate to be an I-told-you-so, but... No, you know what? I LOVE being an I-told-you-so! I TOLD YOU SO! Neener, neener," one commenter posted. "MMO's don't usually die as quietly and gracefully as WildStar. It's really refreshing to see them just give up," another quipped. "I just wanna see the world burn and corrupt video game companies and developers lose everything... Burn in hell," wrote still another. (Don't ask me how corruption got into this. Logic isn't at work here.)Numerous players stepped in to try to analyze just why the reaction to WildStar's foibles has been so heated and gleeful, arguing that Carbine's design and marketing arrogance now reaps what it sowed. CommenterJonah put it this way:
[G]ame studios play a role in this gross polarization, and 
WildStar was no different. Their deep contempt and hostility for any player not considered "hardcore" in their eyes was glaring. They did not hide their snotty, stuck-up attitude. The issue isn't that they attempted to create a niche product; the issue is in how they chose to market it. They inserted a radical divide on the playerbase by clinging to fictional notions of hardcore merit. Not surprisingly, lots of people took issue with their condescension. And when Carbine failed spectacularly at fulfilling their basic commitments that they boasted about for so long, folks had something to say back. I wish players would stop wishing doom on others, but I also wish studios would learn from past mistakes and stop exacerbating divides in the community.
And he's right. People can't help but snicker at a braggart when he trips and falls on his face. Gamers like to see wisdom and humility from game developers, not hubris. If they can't get that, apparently they'll settle for a fiery trainwreck and fan the flames in comment sections across the interwebs.
But this is an instance in which being right isn't fun. It's not fun to watch players who've pinned their hopes and dreams on a new game find them dashed against a wall. It's not fun when people lose their jobs and studios go under. It's not fun when a AAA game is flopping and a hobby is in jeopardy. When an MMO, especially a big MMO, appears to be struggling, I get an awful, sick feeling in my gut because players and journalists aren't the only ones watching these disasters. Developers, investors, publishers, and the next generation of student game designers are all watching too. Some players seem to think that when an MMO with the "wrong" design (or business model or target audience) capsizes, the industry will think to itself, "Well, we won't be making that type of MMO again!" What they're really thinking is, "Well, we won't be making an MMO again period." They aren't always looking at themepark vs. sandbox or free-to-play vs. subscription or raiding vs. roleplaying or the details of why a genre sometimes seems to have been circling the damn drain since 2004.I don't want our genre to dry up. Do you? Some days I already feel that we have a whole lot of options but not much I'm burning to play. I don't want to see another trainwreck, and I don't feel joy or satisfaction when things that we saw coming actually happen. Our pet games don't "win" when another game loses, folks, and schadenfreude should not be your instinct. This isn't funny. This isn't fun.I'm not saying you shouldn't criticize games. I'll never say that. "How will studios and publishers ever learn if their mistakes don't have negative consequences?" mused commenter GoldenGirl, and she's right too. Make your voice heard. Make your wallet felt. No game "deserves" to live. If a game is bad, don't you dare play it or buy it. If a studio is awful, withhold your support. Let the market sort this out in its own plodding and chaotic way.But let's be clear what we mean by "negative consequences." I'm pretty sure developers can learn from their mistakes without angry trolls literally telling them to burn in hell. Not-buying a game is already sending a message, loud and clear. Stomping on a game until it's bruised and bloodied sends a message, too: that MMO gamers aren't worth trying to please.What should you play? Where is the MMO industry headed? How does Massively operate? Has Lord British lost his marbles? Why is the edit button on a timer? Should "monoclegate" be hyphenated? Editor-in-Chief Bree Royce submits to your interrogations right here in Ask Massively every month. Drop your questions in the comments below or ping us atask@massively.com. Just ask!	
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Please remember we already have lots of posts here on the forums discussing these exact things. There's no need for duplicate topics. Since this is a request for thoughts on two specific articles instead of game feedback, I have moved the thread to community. 
 
- Team WildStar 	
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Right,
 
So I've read these articles, and basically they're nothing more but bashing on a game that's going through some difficult phases like any other game that went before it.
The title is exactly the perfect description for that this article is, dancing on the grave of someone. Instead of trying to solve the problem, they are demonstrating exactly what the problem is: Spoiled Customers
 
Also the arguments brought up in those articles are ridculous at best.
The lead designer leaves the game after it's launched?`Sure, can be used as an argument, but did people ever think to look at this from the other side? He designed the game, his job is done.
He's moving on to somewhere else where he can design a new game or add his knowledge and experience to the game.
This is in every company like this, it's called moving on and professional growth. The sad part are people stuck in the same position for 20 years and not evolving at all.
 
Truth be told, I've never even agreed with any articles I've read on massively before. Their view on games and changes in the gaming industry just illustrates for me how much they've lost touch with what they're actually writing about.	
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A snip from Larry Everett in the OP:
{| class="blockquote"
 
My guild no longer plays WildStar, and I hear the same thing from most of the members. They wanted a hardcore game before they jumped in, but after experiencing a hardcore game, they suddenly realized that they were no longer "hardcore." I'll personally take a step further and say that they might still be hardcore, skilled players, but they just don't have the time or dedication that they thought they had. WildStar's fix is conceptually simple: cater to the casual.
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{| class="blockquote"
Right,
 
So I've read these articles, and basically they're nothing more but bashing on a game that's going through some difficult phases like any other game that went before it.
The title is exactly the perfect description for that this article is, dancing on the grave of someone. Instead of trying to solve the problem, they are demonstrating exactly what the problem is: Spoiled Customers
 
Also the arguments brought up in those articles are ridculous at best.
The lead designer leaves the game after it's launched?`Sure, can be used as an argument, but did people ever think to look at this from the other side? He designed the game, his job is done.
He's moving on to somewhere else where he can design a new game or add his knowledge and experience to the game.
This is in every company like this, it's called moving on and professional growth. The sad part are people stuck in the same position for 20 years and not evolving at all.
 
Truth be told, I've never even agreed with any articles I've read on massively before. Their view on games and changes in the gaming industry just illustrates for me how much they've lost touch with what they're actually writing about.
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{| class="blockquote"
Right,
 
So I've read these articles, and basically they're nothing more but bashing on a game that's going through some difficult phases like any other game that went before it.
The title is exactly the perfect description for that this article is, dancing on the grave of someone. Instead of trying to solve the problem, they are demonstrating exactly what the problem is: Spoiled Customers
 
Also the arguments brought up in those articles are ridculous at best.
The lead designer leaves the game after it's launched?`Sure, can be used as an argument, but did people ever think to look at this from the other side? He designed the game, his job is done.
He's moving on to somewhere else where he can design a new game or add his knowledge and experience to the game.
This is in every company like this, it's called moving on and professional growth. The sad part are people stuck in the same position for 20 years and not evolving at all.
 
Truth be told, I've never even agreed with any articles I've read on massively before. Their view on games and changes in the gaming industry just illustrates for me how much they've lost touch with what they're actually writing about.
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{| class="blockquote"
Please remember we already have lots of posts here on the forums discussing these exact things. There's no need for duplicate topics. Since this is a request for thoughts on two specific articles instead of game feedback, I have moved the thread to community. 
 
- Team WildStar 
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