CanadinaXegony said:
Kilsin said:
Zandil said:
Kilsin said:
Zandil said:
just some of my experience ( not really worth much ) with the games i had some involvement with during beta and launch.
SWTOR - Did Some full closed beta testing towards the end of beta
ESO - Closed beta weekend testing ( only opened it up for us on designated weekends ) was more of a stress tests then beta testing
Wildstar - Full closed beta tester
ESO - Didn't have any official public Forums at all until release from memory, left it all to Fan sites, we got access to the beta forums during the stress test then cut us off when it finished
Wildstar - pretty much same as ESO no public forum until launch everything was done in closed beta Forums.
SWTOR - Had official public Forums before release, There was no more wretched hive of scum and villainy then those forums.
Yeah we are doing things a little differently due to being a small crowd funded team, the idea in the beginning was to try something different and have these developer forums allow the community to pay for the privilege to help give input to build this game and while that is still for the most part true, unforeseeable changes have been made, teams have been switched around etc. so there have been a few bumps in the road.
I have mentioned to the team about a normal style game forums (ala EQ/VG boards) for the community to discuss things freely and keep these boards as a paid developer communication platform which is why we are testing the waters and asking for feedback on this topic.
Again, nothing is final, the subs and these boards will remain in place for all paying members and we will wait and see how this poll and feedback comes along over the next week or so before we make a decision and speak to the community further but this is something I am watching closely and we all want the best for the game and the community.
I know nothing about websites but is it possible to create a new one, and keep that for the general public, their fan fiction, discussions about Pantheon and so on, and somehow link that to this one or is that not a feasible option due to costs and maintenance? I know that I was told previously that certain functions and permissions for this site have an either or option, which doesn't serve some of the purposes of this current team.
I was just about to suggest an off-site forum, or a Fan site pick up the slack. (Until Pantheon grabs their web-developer)
Fan sites seem like the obvious choice, since there is no NDA, us paying Fundraiser/Members can be impromptu ambassadors of the discussions taking place, & offer further insight into public queries. This also allows for our fledgling Pantheon fansites some much needed traffic, etc.
But at this point and for the far future, less is more. Focus is what this project needs. And simple things, like adding awareness of P:RoftF on other forums is extremely beneficial and much more useful than one would think... It lures those who are oldschool-minded, in. That keep the trickle of new member coming. And new excitement for becoming a member of a real society. Activity breeds activity...
The funding will come from Visionary Realm's hard work, as the product will represent itself. I don't think this game will have a marketing problem, given how head down at to work Brad's been.
Q: Anyone ever see the keychains behind the counter in High Hold..? And the many rooms..? I knew... what brad was thinking back then.
CanadinaXegony said:
Kilsin said:
Zandil said:
Kilsin said:
Zandil said:
just some of my experience ( not really worth much ) with the games i had some involvement with during beta and launch.
SWTOR - Did Some full closed beta testing towards the end of beta
ESO - Closed beta weekend testing ( only opened it up for us on designated weekends ) was more of a stress tests then beta testing
Wildstar - Full closed beta tester
ESO - Didn't have any official public Forums at all until release from memory, left it all to Fan sites, we got access to the beta forums during the stress test then cut us off when it finished
Wildstar - pretty much same as ESO no public forum until launch everything was done in closed beta Forums.
SWTOR - Had official public Forums before release, There was no more wretched hive of scum and villainy then those forums.
Yeah we are doing things a little differently due to being a small crowd funded team, the idea in the beginning was to try something different and have these developer forums allow the community to pay for the privilege to help give input to build this game and while that is still for the most part true, unforeseeable changes have been made, teams have been switched around etc. so there have been a few bumps in the road.
I have mentioned to the team about a normal style game forums (ala EQ/VG boards) for the community to discuss things freely and keep these boards as a paid developer communication platform which is why we are testing the waters and asking for feedback on this topic.
Again, nothing is final, the subs and these boards will remain in place for all paying members and we will wait and see how this poll and feedback comes along over the next week or so before we make a decision and speak to the community further but this is something I am watching closely and we all want the best for the game and the community.
I know nothing about websites but is it possible to create a new one, and keep that for the general public, their fan fiction, discussions about Pantheon and so on, and somehow link that to this one or is that not a feasible option due to costs and maintenance? I know that I was told previously that certain functions and permissions for this site have an either or option, which doesn't serve some of the purposes of this current team.
Yeah that is what I mentioned above that we were discussing, once we get a feel for what the community wants we will decide what the best option is. :)
I voted no, and here is Why!
if they are not able to put down $25 one time for forums access are these same people going to be able to put down $20 a month to play?
if they put nothing down they are uninvested, and have nothing to lose by Trolling.
if they are unwilling to invest in the game's future should they have the same say as those of us who have put down our hard earned cash?
Boon said:
I little something I am working on for the community.
Nice Boon, I'm looking forward to seeing what this will be :)
Poll Results as of this post:
Total votes: 77
In favour of opening up the forums to the free members: 43
In favour of keeping it closed to members and a paid privilege: 26
Undecided: 8
We received a lot of great feedback on the topic, we were looking closely to see what the communities responses would be, due to previous attempts at opening the forums up and the trouble it caused, we wanted to give it another chance but in doing so, we wanted to be absolutely sure this would be the right thing to do for us as a company and something that the community really wanted to go ahead with as well, since the scores were so close and the feedback was so divided and we were unable to get an overwhelming response either way, we have decided that it is best to keep the current member settings for the forums closed to paying members only.
We feel that the split in sides was too close to call and we don't think that with the results being so close that opening up the forums would of been the right thing to do. We will however be looking at making arrangements for a place that everyone can discuss Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen together at a later date, while we make some changes to this site in the near future to bring it more in line with our vision of being a development site.
So thank you all for your participation, it was very valuable feedback and please watch this space for more to come on this subject.
Note: I have also copied/pasted this to the OP for reference and I will now go ahead and close this thread as it has served it's purpose and is no longer open for discussion, thanks again!