(Quotes below)
If I would only have been interested in paying that price if it had Engineers, I would have waited for engineers. FDev's continued development doesn't draw funds from the existing player base. They could just as easily close shop tomorrow, and we'd all be left with a very expensive file set on our hard drives. Nothing we are doing now is paying them to stay open.
"No, my point is that people here are talking like they're some kind of community appointed leader, when in reality they are only the leaders of the minority of players. FD should care about all of the people who play power play. Maybe the rank 5 players have more cause to have an opinion, because of the way they are playing it. But everything in this thread suggests that those de-facto leaders don't think that the way more casual power play players participate is not valid. (Note that I got the same tone from most of the people when I went back and read the extensive 5th column discussion. Almost everyone was trying to figure out how to get rid of the people who were just playing it for some kind of personal gain)."
Once again, you'll have here lost anyone who thinks rationally about incentives.
Powerplay is a game within a game. That the incentives within powerplay reward players for behaviour that is detrimental to the faction that is issuing those rewards is a flaw in the design of that game. There is no other interpretation that makes sense. I don't hold it against people for exploiting that flaw. I *do* consider it the job of the designers of the game to fix that flaw.
"I have two separate and distinct points which just happen to intersect. My first point is that there are several times as many players not represented here as are. My second point is that the ones represented here have (for the most part) been disrespectful to the people who work very hard to provide a fun game for them."
Yes, I recognized and addressed both of those points, neither of which were valid. To recap: the vast majority of posts here have not been disrespectful. You're taking the worst cases as representative, and then tarring everyone with it.
Any game dev worth their salt recognizes the importance of paying attention to the experience of those who play their game--and any particular mode of their game--the most. FD have shown that they DO care.
We might represent 10% of those who participate in powerplay, but we probably represent 95% of the man-hours that go into powerplay. The current state of the powerplay board has far, FAR more to do with the "community appointed leaders" than it does the blind hordes who just pursue their own merits and gain, and take no time to understand the system of powerplay. More importantly, those people will carry on regardless and won't care one way or another--so your point is totally moot. You have those who DO care about the outcomes, here, complaining that the proposed fixes are not acceptable, and you have those who don't care, who aren't here, and wouldn't care if FD addressed our concerns or not. So what is your point? They're not represented here. That's a point *in our favour.*
"I firmly disagree with you. I purchased Elite + Horizons because I wanted to play the game in the state it was in."
Then you're unique. Most people buy expansions
for the full content of the expansion. "Horizons" was sold as a
season of content--not just 2.1. So you're just mistaken: "Engineers" isn't free.
"They could just as easily close shop tomorrow, and we'd all be left with a very expensive file set on our hard drives. Nothing we are doing now is paying them to stay open. They are continuing development in order to continue to attract new customers. The fact that they marketed it and bundled it as a season pass is just a benefit to early adopters."
Again, *wrong.* I have no idea where you're getting this. We've paid for a product. Were they to close up shop today, anyone who paid for Horizons would be entitled to at least a partial refund.
"Keep in mind, I myself make more than the average game developer in the UK and I work in far less stressful development situations. These guys aren't necessarily paid overly well but they certainly work hard and don't deserve the disrespect and entitlement I have seen here yesterday and today."
If the thoughts you've expressed here represent your impression of how customer service works, then despair for your customers. I mean, if you think a company would be well within their rights to promise multiple updates spanning an entire year, and to charge people for that and then to *only deliver one*--then you don't know how business works. To be clear, I don't believe FD have done this, or have any intention of doing this. You're the only person here who seems to think this would have been okay.
Again, I *get* the frustration with those who are exaggerating and being needlessly petulant or vitriolic, but the solution isn't your equal and opposite exaggeration.
