Birthstone wrote:
Here's a quick recap of today's DICE developer Ask Me Anything on Reddit:
Quote:
Question 1: Even among game journalists, the progression system sticks out as the clear sore point in what otherwise looks like a very well made game- to the point that for many it is souring the whole experience. Are you considering radical changes to this system? Is there anything you have decided you won't change?
DICE: I think this concern has come through loud and clear. We're going to continue adjusting the crate systems, content, and progression mechanics to hit a point that gives players a great, balanced experience at all skill levels. We're working on expanding the number of ways that players can progress, putting more control in their hands and providing more options and choice in the way people play. There's not much in the game that we wouldn't revisit to improve the game for as many players as possible.
Question(s) 2: Are you aware that it will take a gamer who plays 2 hours per day over 6 years in order to unlock all of the content? Don't you think that is a bit unfair that a large portion of content will be unaccessible for those who have other responsibilities like work, school, in a game they paid for? Will you be looking to lower the number of microtransactions in the future? Do you have any comment on the cool down to earn credits? Will it be lowered or removed in the future? Any concern that this will make the grind even more challenging for players who don't buy microtransactions?
DICE: We've seen the speculation about how long it takes players to earn things - but our averages based on the Play First trial are much faster than what's out there. But as more players come in, that could change. We're committed to making progression a fun experience for all of our players. Nothing should feel unattainable and if it does, we'll do what it takes to make sure it's both fun and achievable. As we update and expand Arcade mode, we'll be working towards making sure that players can continue to progress without daily limits.
Question 3: As a father with young kids, the two things that I lack are time and money. For all players like myself, with the vertical progression of the star card system how can we progress in game and stay on EVEN footing with those that have hours upon hours to grind daily, and those that are willing to throw down $$$ on loot crates for power increases via star cards and hero unlocks?
DICE: Mainly through matchmaking. We take into account not only your gameplay skills, but also inventory and time played, when we match players together in multiplayer. You should not ever be matchmade together with players who are much better than you are. Ultimately your effectiveness is going to come down to skill, not the Star Cards that you have. If it doesn't feel that way, we'll see it on our side, too. Our data will tell that story and we'll make adjustments. We're looking at results from millions of matches and will be continuously rebalancing items, unlocks, and matchmaking to create a fair, fun experience for all of our players. Beyond that, all Star Cards have maximum values regardless of how they are unlocked.
Response: Have you seen some of the videos out with people with Rank 4 star cards already? They are smashing everyone else.
DICE Response: Our matchmaking system will rank players who do well against other players that do well. If they wreck players in one game, the next game they'll be put against other players with similar skill. That's the intent. We're going to look at cases like these as they're likely indicative of matchmaking errors. This is potentially occurring because the servers are still populating, since the game only just released. We're finishing rolling all the versions of the game out around the world this week which will affect server populations and matchmaking. Once that's complete we'll be working on updating the matchmaking logic to address situations like these.
This was an excellent opportunity for DICE and EA to do a 180 and explain themselves, and what they're going to do to fix the issues. Instead, we got vague bullshit and astroturfing.
Very disappointing.
Majority of those responses in the AMA were more like wait and see which in the cases and terms of EA implies that we`ll do very little for the future. Could of atleast give us some hope of faith to go in improving the current systems we currently have but nope they just had to play the avoid card as always.