Topic

When will votes be implemented?

So the game launched, and a whole lot of new changes are coming every day. The latest update really upset me when they took out the ability to TP to locked streets. 

Ever since I joined this game I was so happy to see that there was a voting system in place for changes and updates yet it seems to be ignored and my votes are just rolling over, month by month, just like everyone else. Wouldn't this have been a great opportunity to try a vote to see what people think about the updates?

When, if ever, will you open votes so that the players who play this game, can give you some input and not feel like this game is purely in control of the devs?

Posted 14 months ago by vcazan Subscriber! | Permalink

Replies

  • I agree that voting should take more of the users into account... BUT, also, some changes shouldn't rely primarily on those who have the means and ability to pay for a subscription, either. Not challenging you, vcazan, but it's definitely something to think about.
    Posted 14 months ago by Cerulean Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I think voting is a super cool idea and I look forward to seeing it implemented. However, there is a reason that Tiny Speck are the developers of a super fun game and I am not: while I have opinions on how the game should go, they're the professionals and I'm happy to bow to their experience in many cases.
    Posted 14 months ago by Thursday Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Don't forget that the Devs read the forums and the chats and PLAY THE GAME too, so they're very likely to notice the general feelings around things without having to put up official votes. I actually don't trust the General Public to produce a well balanced game the way that I trust the Devs to. I hope the voting is just a priority list (which is how I believe it was described at some point) to gauge if A or B is more in demand at the moment and should happen first, not if A or B should happen at all.

    Also, I'm not sure I agree that the game feels 'purely in control of the Devs.' We have a lot of freedom to create our own culture within the environment provided to us. I remember a time when there was somewhat of a 'war' between street builders who collected everything in their path and didn't replant and non-street builders who were only left with scraps... That wasn't a mechanic of the Devs, that was a cultural thing and we eventually figured out how to coexist (...and the street building recipes were altered a bit...). More recently, there has been an issue of a perceived increase in 'theft' since launch and opening the gates to the public. Again, the community of players will correct the culture and set the norms of behavior within the world (...and the 'locked items' for bag rearrangement helped...). The Devs just give us the playground and patch up the potholes, it's truly up to us to create a place where we want to come play all the time.
    Posted 14 months ago by Jenllip Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Yes I agree we do have a lot of freedom to create our own culture, but when this community that we built just gets taken away like that, then it does feel in the control of the devs. 
    Posted 14 months ago by vcazan Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I agree with that, vcazan. I wish more changes had been discussed with the users in general before they were thrown into the game. But I think TS is making a significant effort now at improving communication with the user base. I can't imagine stoot and the other staff like it very much that I, and others, find something to bark at every 5 minutes because it happened with no warning...
    Posted 14 months ago by Cerulean Subscriber! | Permalink
  • We increased in size by about 5x all at once across the board (and, because of the nature of complex systems, that is not evenly distributed: some components merely doubled overnight and some are 10x or 20x their current capacity). So, for a few weeks post-launch we are just going to be running around with our hair on fire doing the things that need to get done fastest (while slipping in a few feature here and there, like player invites or camera mode, since some of them are smaller and many have been in progress for a while).

    Having said that, we will definitely be starting the votes as soon as we can. I'm not going to give a specific time because so many things are up in the air right now, but we do think it is important and we are excited to do it. Not every little thing will be up for a vote, but we will think through big choices as they arise and make sure the "right" ones are put up for a vote — there will definitely be many votes on simple priorities (when there are multiple large projects which we think are important/cool/valuable, whatever, but we we want to have the community decide which to do first).
    Posted 14 months ago by stoot barfield Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I think so far the only thing that I've felt like deserved a vote is the Regional/Random chat.
    Posted 14 months ago by Laurali Subscriber! | Permalink