I have seen the fact that only 100 people or so post on the forum and therefore we can't take what they say as indicating anything about the more general PfO client base.
Out of curiosity, seeing as this forum is small enough and numbers are relatively accurate for both forum population and initial early enrollment population, I dug out my trusty calculator and calculated where the forum population was in relation to statistical sampling
assumptions forum population 100
Early enrollment population 9000
For these figures the forum population can be seen to have a 95% confidence level with a confidence interval of 10%.
What does this mean cry the non nerdy maths geeks?
It means that on a given issue,for example to take something non controversial number of people who currently play wow if the forum population had 40% of people currently playing Wow that the 40% figure is likely with a 95% chance to be the same for the total early enrollment population give or take up to 10%
STATISTICS WARNING!!!!!!
This however breaks down if there is reason to belief that the forum population is skewed by self selection on a particular issue compared to the general early enrollment population.
Note I am not trying to prove anything by this just thought it was generally interesting as you often see people saying forum posters don't represent the game population but usually it is impossible to know numbers of both and here we have some reasonable estimations to work with so I did the maths
Goblinworks Executive Founder
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I really think that the forum population is not a good enough cross-section of the Kickstarter backers to extrapolate.
I also think that the 100 most active forum members represent between 125 and 250 of the Kickstarter EE slots, due to keeping guild and buddy slots for future use.
Goblin Squad Member
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"Early enrollment population 9000"
far more than that... There are 8,732 kickstarters, but there are levels that include more than one person:
2653 - Adventurers
189 - Music Lovers
83 - Lore Masters
3637 - Pioneers
717 - Buddies (1434 total)
38 - Brew Masters
44 - Geography Buffs
188 - Guild Packs (1128 total)
37 - Alphas
6 - Magics
5 - Item Masters
1 - Famous Ancestor
6 - Tavern Owners
1 - TT Exp
1 - Custom
= 9263, so your estimate was about right... but, we have the option to add to our kickstarter pledges which will add to this number, possibly by hundreds or even thousands more.
I personally, may upgrade from Brew Master to a Guild Pack (adding 5 more EE players).
@DeciusBrutus I both agree and disagree with you here. My view would it would completely depend upon the issue. If there is no reason to think that the forum is self selecting upon a particular issue then it is not likely that the figures would be that far off.
Some issues I suspect yes the forumites will be abnormal on but I suspect a good 80% of the time they will have a reasonable correlation. As I said I did the figures more as fun and food for thought than to prove any particular point and it was one of the few times that when the claim is made you have some relatively accurate numbers to go by
As to forum people accounting for more than one kickstarter ee slots that actually changes the total population of EE to a lower number and makes the forum sample more statistically significant rather than less so.
Examples of issues where I think the forum may be abnormal to general population are PVP and views on settlement organisation. The latter due to my suspicion is a lot of posters are likely to be "guild officer" types
@Bludd
The numbers I used were reasonable estimates and not meant to be accurate and as time progresses and we get more people joining pfo after EE finishes then the correlation will certainly change for the worse.
It is an interesting argument though that crowdforging is good but the views of forum members are abnormal compared to the final player population which is what the
"I have seen the fact that only 100 people or so post on the forum and therefore we can't take what they say as indicating anything about the more general PfO client base."
style of statement actually implies.
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Goblin Squad Member
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Numbers are worth being aware of.
We can take "what they say", as reliable interest. That is a start with consistency even if consistently in a particular direction. I think the devs are not necessarily too concerned about a cross-section focus group atm. I think they ARE interested in:
1) Invested potential players/customers: Cash, time and flexing the grey matter
2) Forming the early community <-> dev communication/relation
Secondly those who participate now, WILL see the issues become familiar, repeating trends, and over time that again is cumulative.
All in all positive.
So, another question: Why do you* participate, what got you* posting with interest? Did you* manage to pledge on kickstarter and why would you* take such a risk?
*you (pl.).
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Goblinworks Executive Founder
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I think that the current active forumites are much less likely to have a "no opinion" position, or a "It should be like WoW." opinion. There are active selection effects against both of those positions, and I'm fine with that.
As far as most of the discussions that actually happen, except alignment discussions, I generally like the quality of the reasoning from people that I disagree with. The bar to new participants (in terms of the backlog of information that needs to be assimilated in order to understand our microculture) is only getting higher. I don't think the forumites will get significantly more numerous until the launch publicity kicks in, and at that point there will probably be a culture shift.
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Goblin Squad Member
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...I personally, may upgrade from Brew Master to a Guild Pack (adding 5 more EE players).Awww... and I was so looking forward to a nice cold Bluddwolf Beer, too.
Bluddweiser?
At the time the brew master was the cheapest way to get into EE, but since they opened EE up to everyone in before 1 million, that value was lost. Now if we actually get a unique recipe to make our own beverage, that would be a different story.
You may still get your chance to drink my brew. Just waiting on some more details.
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Goblin Squad Member
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...I personally, may upgrade from Brew Master to a Guild Pack (adding 5 more EE players).Awww... and I was so looking forward to a nice cold Bluddwolf Beer, too.
Bluddweiser?
At the time the brew master was the cheapest way to get into EE, but since they opened EE up to everyone in before 1 million, that value was lost. Now if we actually get a unique recipe to make our own beverage, that would be a different story.
You may still get your chance to drink my brew. Just waiting on some more details.
You barley and hops farmers. You have been warned. Bluddwolf's Company will be around for "donations".
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Goblin Squad Member
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I think that the number of posters is deceptive due to lurkers who just read. Also, I think the numbers will go up when the Kickstarter pledge management system goes live. Those who do not have a Paizo account will get one to claim rewards and that may bring more people onto the threads.
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Goblin Squad Member
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I used to post quite a bit, but my life got incredibly busy, so I just lurk for the most part. After my wedding at the end of May I expect I'll be more active on the forums again.
Also, I agree that the quality of posters on these forums is in general much higher than you would normally expect on a public forum on the Internet. :)
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Goblin Squad Member
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I used to post quite a bit, but my life got incredibly busy, so I just lurk for the most part. After my wedding at the end of May I expect I'll be more active on the forums again.
Also, I agree that the quality of posters on these forums is in general much higher than you would normally expect on a public forum on the Internet. :)
Congrats Uthreth! =D
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Goblin Squad Member
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I generally just lurk as well. This is looking to be a very different game than I have ever played before so I am more in a 'let's see what happens' mode.
I am also in at the buddy level - my wife doesn't post at all :)
She would be very welcome, and you as well.
The game needs female players, so the forum should seek her counsel.
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Goblin Squad Member
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I think it's mostly because they've been so slow to get the KS rewards fulfillment system going, and the presented crowdforging topics have consisted of two polls, one of which ended up getting deleted because it was poorly worded. Outside of that, there was the change from all-or-nothing capstone powers to a more gradual dedication power, but if GW wants people to stay more highly engaged they'll need to keep some kind of list of game design elements that were chosen or changed via community response.
As to just talking over game ideas for the fun of it, there are a few consistent posters that were dedicated from before the 2nd KS, but there are also some that are so confrontational about endorsing unchecked and rampant evil that it has become tiresome to have every thread devolve into an argument with them. If the game does end up as an online version of Somalia then the population on the server may look a lot like it now does on the board.
I agree that the quality of posters on these forums is in general much higher than you would normally expect on a public forum on the Internet. :)
Of course, everything sounds better when you're comparing it to something like the comment threads of video, blog, and news sites, but that's because mods here don't put up with sexism, racism, homophobia, ableism, and other oppressive speech. The potential of losing access to one's Paizo/GW account carries more significance than losing one's YouTube account.
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Goblin Squad Member
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There isn't a lot of interest in the forums because there isn't a lot of interest in the MMO.
Keep in mind GW bribed the PnP crowd pretty heavy with non-mmo goodies to reach the kickstarter goal.
If they had gone strictly on the people actually interested in the MMO they would have failed rather spectacularly.
This is probably why they aren't allowing credits or reduction in pledge amounts. They have no faith in the actual MMO's appeal and are afraid too many people would bail or dump pledges.
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Goblin Squad Member
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There isn't a lot of interest in the forums because there isn't a lot of interest in the MMO.
Keep in mind GW bribed the PnP crowd pretty heavy with non-mmo goodies to reach the kickstarter goal.
If they had gone strictly on the people actually interested in the MMO they would have failed rather spectacularly.
This is probably why they aren't allowing credits or reduction in pledge amounts. They have no faith in the actual MMO's appeal and are afraid too many people would bail or dump pledges.
Actually, I knew nothing of Pathfinder until I was told of the MMO. Now I have bought the Beginner Box Set, the Pathfinder Comic and I plan on trying my hand at playing PFRPG through PbP, Ts3 or via Email.
Obviously GW offered you enough of a value for you to put into the kick starter. That is not a bribe, it is a sale.
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Goblin Squad Member
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I'm very interested in PFO. But I haven't been posting much for several reasons (which I suspect apply to a lot of backers); namely:
I'm a latecomer. The "posting 100" already seem to be a fairly close-knit group who have already hashed out a number of issues. I'm still playing catch-up, at the same time I'm breaking into an established community. Both of those things take time to do successfully.
I'm not a guild officer type. Much of the discussion around settlements, war and chartered companies is guild-level, and not casual-player-level. There isn't much for me to contribute. (And I'm still confused... there's a "guild land rush" thread for claiming settlement hexes by "guilds" but chartered companies are "guild" equivalents and Members of a CC can belong to different settlements...?)
I don't have much experience with PvP; I fall into the "willing to try it but would prefer to avoid it" camp, so I don't have much to add to PvP-related topics except "how can I mitigate its effects on my character?" which is not a popular stance to take.
I've never played Pathfinder, and my non-Pathfinder RPG experience is a decade old.
Also, we're still a year or so away from early enrollment. Participation, even among the 100, is likely to wax and wane over the coming months. Keep an open and friendly attitude, though, to encourage more latecomers and I think participant numbers will grow over time.
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Goblin Squad Member
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I'm very interested in PFO. But I haven't been posting much for several reasons (which I suspect apply to a lot of backers); namely:
I'm a latecomer. The "posting 100" already seem to be a fairly close-knit group who have already hashed out a number of issues. I'm still playing catch-up, at the same time I'm breaking into an established community. Both of those things take time to do successfully.
I'm not a guild officer type. Much of the discussion around settlements, war and chartered companies is guild-level, and not casual-player-level. There isn't much for me to contribute. (And I'm still confused... there's a "guild land rush" thread for claiming settlement hexes by "guilds" but chartered companies are "guild" equivalents and Members of a CC can belong to different settlements...?)
I don't have much experience with PvP; I fall into the "willing to try it but would prefer to avoid it" camp, so I don't have much to add to PvP-related topics except "how can I mitigate its effects on my character?" which is not a popular stance to take.
I've never played Pathfinder, and my non-Pathfinder RPG experience is a decade old.
Also, we're still a year or so away from early enrollment. Participation, even among the 100, is likely to wax and wane over the coming months. Keep an open and friendly attitude, though, to encourage more latecomers and I think participant numbers will grow over time.
Don't feel intimidated. Though I can understand why people might. I am very new around here also but I decided to dive right in and am using "we" more than "you" or "they" now. Not because I don't feel a little intimidated by "older" posters or the sheer volume of material (because I do a little =D ). Just because I remember that it is a public forum and I have ideas and opinions that I like to debate. Believe me we are "close-knit" when we play nice but we LOVE to argue. That is really okay though.
When I look back at the older threads I see a lot of names back there that I don't see very often around here. Not sure why that is. Maybe some have lost interest. Maybe some are tired of debating when there can be no "winner" until the rules/systems are confirmed. Maybe they are just busy with life.
We can only get stronger though if we are 101+ instead of "100".
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Goblin Squad Member
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Don't feel intimidated. Though I can understand why people might. I am very new around here also but I decided to dive right in and am using "we" more than "you" or "they" now. Not because I don't feel a little intimidated by "older" posters or the sheer volume of material (because I do a little =D ). Just because I remember that it is a public forum and I have ideas and opinions that I like to debate. Believe me we are "close-knit" when we play nice but we LOVE to argue. That is really okay though.
Thank you for responding - and I mean that sincerely. It's not a matter of intimidation, but is two-fold: I only post if I have something to contribute to a topic, and I won't then continue posting unless there is a later post in the thread offering a point which sparks further thoughts from me. Also, again, there have not been many topics recently which I felt I had something to contribute to at all - and that is likely true for others as well.
My post above was not meant to be a complaint, but rather the perspective of someone who is not part of the "posting 100" but is still very interested in the game. Just think of me as the strong but silent type!
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Goblin Squad Member
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Don't feel intimidated. Though I can understand why people might. I am very new around here also but I decided to dive right in and am using "we" more than "you" or "they" now. Not because I don't feel a little intimidated by "older" posters or the sheer volume of material (because I do a little =D ). Just because I remember that it is a public forum and I have ideas and opinions that I like to debate. Believe me we are "close-knit" when we play nice but we LOVE to argue. That is really okay though.Thank you for responding - and I mean that sincerely. It's not a matter of intimidation, but is two-fold: I only post if I have something to contribute to a topic, and I won't then continue posting unless there is a later post in the thread offering a point which sparks further thoughts from me. Also, again, there have not been many topics recently which I felt I had something to contribute to at all - and that is likely true for others as well.
My post above was not meant to be a complaint, but rather the perspective of someone who is not part of the "posting 100" but is still very interested in the game. Just think of me as the strong but silent type!
Gotcha. I suppose you should only take the time to post if the topic interests you.
I wish that there were a way to spark more interest in people to post their thoughts. It has seemed to slow down since I first started blah blahhing around here.
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Goblin Squad Member
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@Deianira, while I have been playing table top a long time I am not an MMO player. I think that I played one 20 years ago for a few days, but I fail to remember which one. I have found for me that the best way to become integrated into the community is to have a question you would really like to know the answer to for which you haven't found a thread that addresses, then create a thread to ask the question. There are no bad questions and I have found this community very generous in answering. Welcome.
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Goblin Squad Member
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There isn't a lot of interest in the forums because there isn't a lot of interest in the MMO.
Keep in mind GW bribed the PnP crowd pretty heavy with non-mmo goodies to reach the kickstarter goal.
If they had gone strictly on the people actually interested in the MMO they would have failed rather spectacularly.
This is probably why they aren't allowing credits or reduction in pledge amounts. They have no faith in the actual MMO's appeal and are afraid too many people would bail or dump pledges.
It also explains why they don't ban me from the forums, as they need every customer they can get :D
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Goblinworks Executive Founder
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I'm very interested in PFO. But I haven't been posting much for several reasons (which I suspect apply to a lot of backers); namely:
I'm a latecomer. The "posting 100" already seem to be a fairly close-knit group who have already hashed out a number of issues. I'm still playing catch-up, at the same time I'm breaking into an established community. Both of those things take time to do successfully.
I'm not a guild officer type. Much of the discussion around settlements, war and chartered companies is guild-level, and not casual-player-level. There isn't much for me to contribute. (And I'm still confused... there's a "guild land rush" thread for claiming settlement hexes by "guilds" but chartered companies are "guild" equivalents and Members of a CC can belong to different settlements...?)
I don't have much experience with PvP; I fall into the "willing to try it but would prefer to avoid it" camp, so I don't have much to add to PvP-related topics except "how can I mitigate its effects on my character?" which is not a popular stance to take.
I've never played Pathfinder, and my non-Pathfinder RPG experience is a decade old.
Also, we're still a year or so away from early enrollment. Participation, even among the 100, is likely to wax and wane over the coming months. Keep an open and friendly attitude, though, to encourage more latecomers and I think participant numbers will grow over time.
If you're having trouble breaking in, let us know what you are having trouble with and I will try to help provide whatever it is that would help you get up to speed. I suspect that there are a lot of people in your situation, and it bothers me that they all have a higher barrier to participation than they should. Is there anything more that we could do to you join the microculture?
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Goblin Squad Member
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Keep an open and friendly attitude, though, to encourage more latecomers and I think participant numbers will grow over time.
I feel for the most part this is true of the PFO forum community; though perhaps my perceptions are somewhat skewed. I do think though that the past couple weeks have seen some relatively animated discussion :) But please don't feel unwelcome, there's certainly no animosity or elitism - new perspectives are always welcome. In my opinion, the best place to get started is to ask questions about the blogs in the blog threads.
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Goblin Squad Member
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I don't have much experience with PvP; I fall into the "willing to try it but would prefer to avoid it" camp, so I don't have much to add to PvP-related topics except "how can I mitigate its effects on my character?" which is not a popular stance to take.
I've never played Pathfinder, and my non-Pathfinder RPG experience is a decade old.
Deianira,
I wouldn't sweat either of these if you are interested in the game. FWIW I am not yet a "Goblin Squad MEmber", as I found PFO too late to get in the Kickstarter, but am watching for the next opportunity to get in early, as it looks like a ton of fun. The Crowdforging aspect is pretty cool too. In fact it appears to have set a trend. Many other games in development are using the fan base more and more for ideas and feedback.
The PvP emphasis isn't what it appears, as there should be ways to almost exclusively craft in PFO....and if you do want to travel around, explore the land of harvest goods, go with a group. They might not be able to carry a total non-combatant, but it makes the PvP much more fun, even if you go down fighting. At least you get to share in the agony of defeat.
Either way, keep checking in and post if you like. We are a pretty friendly group. I expect more trolls and hags as PFO gets closer to launch (it always seems to work out that way for some reason), but you'll know who is a fan and who is just passing through if you check in every so often.
@Deianira
Welcome and I would say even though the conversation may be quite robust at time when opposing views clash that on the whole the conversations remain civil. I know I have clashed for instance with Being on the alignement issue but I think it is fair to say that we remain civil despite a couple of misunderstandings.
People seem pretty reasonable on the whole so feel free to pitch in. I certainly haven't seen any real incidence of flaming yet here
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Goblin Squad Member
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Don't feel intimidated. Though I can understand why people might. I am very new around here also but I decided to dive right in and am using "we" more than "you" or "they" now. Not because I don't feel a little intimidated by "older" posters or the sheer volume of material (because I do a little =D ). Just because I remember that it is a public forum and I have ideas and opinions that I like to debate. Believe me we are "close-knit" when we play nice but we LOVE to argue. That is really okay though.Thank you for responding - and I mean that sincerely. It's not a matter of intimidation, but is two-fold: I only post if I have something to contribute to a topic, and I won't then continue posting unless there is a later post in the thread offering a point which sparks further thoughts from me. Also, again, there have not been many topics recently which I felt I had something to contribute to at all - and that is likely true for others as well.
My post above was not meant to be a complaint, but rather the perspective of someone who is not part of the "posting 100" but is still very interested in the game. Just think of me as the strong but silent type!
Gotcha. I suppose you should only take the time to post if the topic interests you.
I wish that there were a way to spark more interest in people to post their thoughts. It has seemed to slow down since I first started blah blahhing around here.
Why'd you scare 'em all away, bro?
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Goblin Squad Member
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Then Welcome Deianira.I'm very interested in PFO. But I haven't been posting much for several reasons (which I suspect apply to a lot of backers); namely:
I'm a latecomer. The "posting 100" already seem to be a fairly close-knit group who have already hashed out a number of issues. I'm still playing catch-up, at the same time I'm breaking into an established community. Both of those things take time to do successfully.
I'm not a guild officer type. Much of the discussion around settlements, war and chartered companies is guild-level, and not casual-player-level. There isn't much for me to contribute.
Actually, I believe there is, if you are willing. You are unfamiliar, yet learning. You have questions, such as the one you ask below. You have a point of view we have lacked, and your insights might be crucial to our understanding, our recognizing issues we hadn't thought of. You could discern what we have been too eager to just gloss over. Please do share with us your questions and insights.
(And I'm still confused... there's a "guild land rush" thread for claiming settlement hexes by "guilds" but chartered companies are "guild" equivalents and Members of a CC can belong to different settlements...?)
That is rather inexplicable, isn't it? You're right, and it doesn't mesh with what we are hearing. The best I can surmise is that either the language of the guild land-rush was from before they had fully developed their 'charter company' social organization as an member element of their chartering settlement, OR they might actually have every intention of providing for traditional guilds and the CC/Settlement thing is icing on the cake. Language about guilds has been sparse so far and could indeed use clarification.
I don't have much experience with PvP; I fall into the "willing to try it but would prefer to avoid it" camp, so I don't have much to add to PvP-related topics except "how can I mitigate its effects on my character?" which is not a popular stance to take.
Well, I think the penultimate PvP guy, Sun Tzu might recommend that the best battle is one that is won before it ever begins. I would add that thus it should avoid all the messy details. The excellent warrior uses the mind: I would invite you to consider how challenging it might be to engineer PvP wins without ever having to engage in battle.
I've never played Pathfinder, and my non-Pathfinder RPG experience is a decade old.
Neither have I, and what pen-and-paper (PnP) RPG experience I have is rather more than a mere decade in the past. Yet I seem to be fairly well accepted here.
Also, we're still a year or so away from early enrollment. Participation, even among the 100, is likely to wax and wane over the coming months.A telling point. I would however point out that Goblinworks has been extraordinarily open about the game and their plans, reveal much often, and some few of us will be in on the Alpha and Ryan said, if memory serves, that those who do will be welcome to share their impressions with the rest of us. And I think that will prove very interesting indeed.
Keep an open and friendly attitude, though, to encourage more latecomers and I think participant numbers will grow over time.
If half of them are as charming as you to converse with, then I will look forward to reading them.
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Goblin Squad Member
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Back to the OP..
Forum population is typically around 10%, even after a game has been launched.
For some of us, myself included, game forums are a part of the overall MMO experience. Because of my work hours, I can actually spend more time on a forum than I can in the actual game.
I am profoundly appreciative that these Paizo message boards seem to be categorized as a publisher's message board, and not a gaming message board. My job blocks access to gaming / sports / entertainment sites, but not publishing!!
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Goblin Squad Member
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I'm very interested in PFO. But I haven't been posting much for several reasons (which I suspect apply to a lot of backers); namely:
I'm a latecomer. The "posting 100" already seem to be a fairly close-knit group who have already hashed out a number of issues. I'm still playing catch-up, at the same time I'm breaking into an established community. Both of those things take time to do successfully.
I'm not a guild officer type. Much of the discussion around settlements, war and chartered companies is guild-level, and not casual-player-level. There isn't much for me to contribute. (And I'm still confused... there's a "guild land rush" thread for claiming settlement hexes by "guilds" but chartered companies are "guild" equivalents and Members of a CC can belong to different settlements...?)
I don't have much experience with PvP; I fall into the "willing to try it but would prefer to avoid it" camp, so I don't have much to add to PvP-related topics except "how can I mitigate its effects on my character?" which is not a popular stance to take.
I've never played Pathfinder, and my non-Pathfinder RPG experience is a decade old.
Also, we're still a year or so away from early enrollment. Participation, even among the 100, is likely to wax and wane over the coming months. Keep an open and friendly attitude, though, to encourage more latecomers and I think participant numbers will grow over time.
I know how it is for the break in portion, but I just chime in where I feel my opinion has merit. Otherwise it's interesting to read some of the conversations, but I have limited time to try and keep up with the posts on here and new subjects from day to day.
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Goblin Squad Member
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I don't have any access to and gaming materials at work, as I work for the Federal Government and their restrictions are pretty stiff. I can get onto Reddit, and Ars Technica, and Tom's Hardware....a few sneaky sites that discuss gaming as technical professions moreso than gamers, but it gets me my fix while at work.
I think it's mostly because they've been so slow to get the KS rewards fulfillment system going, and the presented crowdforging topics have consisted of two polls, one of which ended up getting deleted because it was poorly worded. Outside of that, there was the change from all-or-nothing capstone powers to a more gradual dedication power, but if GW wants people to stay more highly engaged they'll need to keep some kind of list of game design elements that were chosen or changed via community response..
I think a lot of people are waiting for this actually. Things should liven up again once the Devs get a plan in place that brings the players into the process a bit more.
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Goblin Squad Member
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I think the weekly design blogs are directly linked to the topics being discussed on the forums. There was a two week argument about assassins and disguise, and then we get a blog post on assassins and disguise. The game designers post on the boards in answer to our questions, and on more than one occasion have changed how something is planned based on community feedback. Just because the polls have stopped, it doesn't mean that there is no community input affecting the game design.
Well I think I am both being robust and participating. Constructive I guess is in the eye of the beholder
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Goblin Squad Member
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I think the weekly design blogs are directly linked to the topics being discussed on the forums. There was a two week argument about assassins and disguise, and then we get a blog post on assassins and disguise. The game designers post on the boards in answer to our questions, and on more than one occasion have changed how something is planned based on community feedback. Just because the polls have stopped, it doesn't mean that there is no community input affecting the game design.
This.
I count myself amongst the latecomers to the scene, but I dont have any particular concerns about the vocal 10% engaged with the developers. My initial concern was that people would be pushing for a simpler 'dumbed down' game. Happily, its become quite clear thats not the case. And whatever points come up with which I personally disagree Im perfectly willing to give GW the benefit of the doubt and see how things turn out. If they continue their current trend, I wouldnt be surprised to see the engagement continue well past OE.
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Goblin Squad Member
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...And whatever points come up with which I personally disagree Im perfectly willing to give GW the benefit of the doubt and see how things turn out...
If you have concerns with something you see in the design my recommendation is that you should speak up, giving the developer the benefit of the doubt but ensuring they have noticed the possibility you spotted. If you caught sight of a real problem nobody else noticed it is easier to correct early than after launch when players are in an uproar.
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Goblin Squad Member
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(And I'm still confused... there's a "guild land rush" thread for claiming settlement hexes by "guilds" but chartered companies are "guild" equivalents and Members of a CC can belong to different settlements...?)
Don't feel bad if you don't fully understand this issue. Right now, the talkative 100 are quite confused about the relationships between "party", "chartered company", and "settlement". I think even Goblinworks' staff are still working out the details of those topics.
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Goblin Squad Member
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I think it's mostly because they've been so slow to get the KS rewards fulfillment system going, and the presented crowdforging topics have consisted of two polls, one of which ended up getting deleted because it was poorly worded. Outside of that, there was the change from all-or-nothing capstone powers to a more gradual dedication power, but if GW wants people to stay more highly engaged they'll need to keep some kind of list of game design elements that were chosen or changed via community response.I think a lot of people are waiting for this actually. Things should liven up again once the Devs get a plan in place that brings the players into the process a bit more.
What about the idea of a list of Crowdforging-directed decisions? So far, we picked gnomes as race #4 and we changed capstones into a dedication/focus bonus. They've done dev-blogs on topics that became controversial here, but I don't know that players actually had a hand in guiding decisions, rather than just prompting an information dump to clear up misunderstandings.
Maybe they're waiting for GW to have its own boards so they can be sure that only backers get votes and we only get one vote each, but if the time it took to get the fulfillment tool out is any indication, we could be waiting 6 months to have GW-specific boards. If there's never a plan to split off GW boards, then they need some way to make sure voting is one-backer-one-vote.
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Goblin Squad Member
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It could be that the devs just aren't far enough along on any particular topic to be able to provide a well described and documented set of alternatives for crowdforging. I would like clearly defined options to choose from, ones that have a reasonable level of detail for us to assess impact on game play.