An Update from Chris

"

A big topic in the gaming industry recently is development crunch. Some studios make their teams work 14 hour days to pack every patch full of the most fixes and improvements possible. Sometimes when we read our own Patch Notes threads and community feedback, we feel that we are being asked to do the same. I will not run this company that way.

No company is perfect, but GGG is damn near. Chris rules.

"

gibbousmoon wrote:

for the record, not a single time in the hundreds of critical posts I have read have I seen a request for you to run your development team into the ground in order to meet QA demands.

Nor have I seen any accusations that your team is not working hard enough.

Again, not one. single. time.

reddit blamed them for leaving developers into holiday and releasing the game in an unfinished state.

ggg reacts to reddit. or did you see a community manager response in this thread?

Here is a fine example of loud minority that plagues reddit and forums, that I hope GGG can filter out from actual feedback.

"

mlangwor wrote:

...
I didn't even make it past level 30 this league and I tried on 3 different characters, it just sucked. leveling as a whole is shit, there has to be an alternative I've literally done this shit like a hundred times the first act is just a fucking miserable experience every god damn time. I have no sockets again, no passives again, no skills again, have to do trials and labs again, so that I can farm trash uniques and no currency until I'm in maps again.

I hate how overly complicated shit is now. I feel like Brooks after he got out of Shawshank. there's so much garbage i'm obligated to do the only way I can wash my hands of it is to not even play.

synthesis crafting and even shaper/elder mod crafting sucks, seeing these disgusting broken fucking items is so discouraging when all I really want is for cyclone to be good and armour to matter and make it so I don't get killed before I can react. spoiler I always still get one-shot. ...

this game used to actually just be basic as fuck, fireball, cleave, cyclone, real vanilla shit. supports added the effects that made your abilities shine. winter orb just shines without any links, without any support from the tree and without any ascendancies. ...

you have turned this from just play more and you'll get the best stuff eventually to something else entirely. ...

THE GAME IS SUPPOSED TO BE THE FUCKING GAME, THE GAME IS FUN AT ITS CORE, WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED? ...

...

I can't tell you specific mechanics you have to change, you're the pros and you make the game, but I can tell you this game in its current state feels like a job that I want to quit.

a new league comes calling and I see PoE on the ID, I don't answer.

TLDR: So what you want is a crappy boring game that doesn't require you to use your brain. I think Diablo 3 is for you. It fits your "just play more and you'll get the best stuff eventually" definition 100%.

You whine about not even being able to reach Endgame, when in reality it has never been more accessible than before.

You whine about the fresh League start, that is basically the main feature of new leagues and probably the best thing that keeps people exited and playing. You know there is standard, don't you?

You have a problem with the game because it has a lot of content and variety??? I can't even...

OK and my favourite: "this game used to actually just be basic as fuck, fireball, cleave, cyclone, real vanilla shit"
Yea I think 'vanilla shit' is the correct definition for that. Thankfully the game is a lot more fun nowadays. While Winter Orb is really a bit over the top, you are highly exaggerating with the "no links, no points" sentence.

Thank you.

"A big topic in the gaming industry recently is development crunch. Some studios make their teams work 14 hour days to pack every patch full of the most fixes and improvements possible. Sometimes when we read our own Patch Notes threads and community feedback, we feel that we are being asked to do the same. I will not run this company that way. While there's inevitably a bit of optional paid overtime near league releases, the vast majority of a Path of Exile development cycle has great work/life balance. This is necessary to keep our developers happy and healthy for the long-term, but it does mean that some game improvements will take a while to be made."



That right there alone is more than enough to show where you guys priorities are. And they are in the right place.

With that said i would honestly like to suggest maybe considering not being so strict on the 3 month cycle stuff. There is a VERY noticeable difference in quality for bugs and polish to new leagues that's getting worse every league start. What really sucks is its also noticeable how much more stable and proper New League Launches have been stability wise but, then that's overshadowed by game breaking bugs every single league.

Mechanics not working like they should making it possible for Exploits early in the league that have destroyed the economy's before the league even gets going good.. The content has to work correctly otherwise you end up feeling as if you are just wasting your time even playing till bugs get fixed or worse find yourself having to deal the repercussions that end up hurting the league economy's. And its not coincidence bugs and such are worse now than ever with this new schedule. While at the same time obvious improvements have come but i feel like more polish could come if you give yourself just that extra couple weeks..

I would rather wait 4 months between leagues and they have the polish and everything work correctly more than having a league every 3 months. Keep the 3 Months League setup but give yourself another month with some filler 1 Month League or Race which people enjoy. You said yourself you will NOT make GGG guys do this "Crunch" shit and i must agree.. So dont.. Give yourselves more time to make that magic you guys always seem to work. I almost guarantee the past couple leagues the one things you guys probably wish every single league you could have had was just another week or two. And i bet there would have been far less complaints as well.

Just my 2 cents. This game is still amazing and its still pretty much the only game i play.. so take what i say as something that is coming from someone who only wants to see this game grow into the game everyone else wishes they could do but they cant because its already being done better.. by you guys. Weather you realize it or not you might not 80 hour 7 days a week your guys.. but a hardline 3 month scheduled still creates Crunch.. maybe not near as Toxic as the others being discussed but its still Crunch. Your still trying to Cram as much as possible in a certain time period and this will always lead to things not being 100%. Something ALWAYS has to be left out when the deadline comes.

GGG is great! I am a casual player that keeps coming back league after league to participate and I enjoy the hard work you guys put into your game.

PS. Please don't nerf cyclone anymore. I am super excited for 3.7!

Thank you! Please no more overly complex leagues, at least for a while. Delve/incursion were great, betrayal/synthesis are too complex to bother with most of the time.

To Chris and the team at GGG,

You guys are great don't pull an epic games and grind your team to the bone. Sometimes I think players that leave aggressive feedback forget that there are real people at the other end of the messages. My friends and I enjoy playing POE regardless of how a league performs because we are there for fun and you have created a great environment for us to do just that. So thank you!

Nath

This game made me to realize one simple fact that is not easily acknowledged: Great things come from great people.

GGG, you guys are GREAT.

Synthesis league was good. It wasn't perfect but nothing ever is. The issues I have with PoE is that I don't enjoy speeding through the game and wish there was a more slower pace content with all the leagues unlockable. Anyways. Looking forward to Exilecon. Feel free to skip 3.7 and 3.8 to focus on 4.0. thanks