There is one arugment that is being repeated over and over and it never fails to provoke strong protest. What I am talking about is this: "But all the free updates...!"
This is a repost but I don't think a quick reminder hurts anyone and maybe, just maybe, even if you're someone who doesn't agree with a single thing I'm saying, maybe after reading this at least you understand "the other side" a little bit better. (And yes, I say this with some irony because "we" vs. "them" isn't really a good approach for discussions in the community because things tend to get personal.)
So let's get this straight: The things they cleverly brand 'free updates' are not gifts!
According to Frontier they did in fact not deliver a complete game (whatever that means to you): Almost a year back the devs said they're not done with the game, the development continues and there will be updates. It only made sense, because there were a whole lot of things still lacking and I'm not sure so many people would have bought PC without the assurances Frontier would keep working on it.
Because of this it shouldn't have been such a suprise that there were free updates/ patches/ whatever you call them - that's what they promised. Ironically the standard for games companies is seemingly so low, that throwing a clearly unfinished product on the market and NOT immediately abandoning it gives you credit like you wouldn't believe!
With every new update part of the community is blown away by Frontier's - as it must feel to them - sheer generosity. They don't see it as just a different buisness/ release model, which it is. (And by the way it is working, just look at their revenue. And I for one am happy for them.)
But that's where a lot of the controversy comes from. One poster argues on the premise every patch is a gift, the next one argues on the basis these little junks is simply how the game is being released.
The community waited almost a year for Frontier to fix crucial things in the game. Regarding the big stuff we saw some game changing new features (no collision, custom biomes, billboards) and bugs that got addressed (shop insanity, queues). The rest was new assets. Many things still didn't see any improvement. Building is frustrating as ever, balance is still off and management is - well, in my opinion it's a lost cause. And with the updates new bugs were introduced - I don't know but I don't think all the bugs introduced with 1.3 are fixed yet - and features like ride aging or the sequencer just seem sloppy and poorly designed.
Anyway, this alone wouldn't be such an issue if only Frontier was communicating! You can't expect people to just sit and wait month after month until the thing they're waiting for gets fixed. "Maybe it will, maybe it won't, you just be patient." Leaving the community in the dark has a major disadvantage: People don't know what they can realistically expect. Add to that the - as I see it - constant over-hyping of stuff and you can see where comments like you mentioned come from.
Many have become frustrated and its not because we can't appreciate what Frontier is doing. If you look closely you'll find few exceptions of people who don't have to say good and positive things about PC as well. Communication and a little bit more transparency* on Frontier's part is all it would take for people to have more patience and understanding.
*This includes adressing concerns about QoL, balance, coaster editor etc., owning up to self-imposed but still missed deadlines (there must be a good reason why the anniversary announcement was nothing like they said it would be), being clear about priorities.
This is a repost but I don't think a quick reminder hurts anyone and maybe, just maybe, even if you're someone who doesn't agree with a single thing I'm saying, maybe after reading this at least you understand "the other side" a little bit better. (And yes, I say this with some irony because "we" vs. "them" isn't really a good approach for discussions in the community because things tend to get personal.)
So let's get this straight: The things they cleverly brand 'free updates' are not gifts!
According to Frontier they did in fact not deliver a complete game (whatever that means to you): Almost a year back the devs said they're not done with the game, the development continues and there will be updates. It only made sense, because there were a whole lot of things still lacking and I'm not sure so many people would have bought PC without the assurances Frontier would keep working on it.
Because of this it shouldn't have been such a suprise that there were free updates/ patches/ whatever you call them - that's what they promised. Ironically the standard for games companies is seemingly so low, that throwing a clearly unfinished product on the market and NOT immediately abandoning it gives you credit like you wouldn't believe!
With every new update part of the community is blown away by Frontier's - as it must feel to them - sheer generosity. They don't see it as just a different buisness/ release model, which it is. (And by the way it is working, just look at their revenue. And I for one am happy for them.)
But that's where a lot of the controversy comes from. One poster argues on the premise every patch is a gift, the next one argues on the basis these little junks is simply how the game is being released.
The community waited almost a year for Frontier to fix crucial things in the game. Regarding the big stuff we saw some game changing new features (no collision, custom biomes, billboards) and bugs that got addressed (shop insanity, queues). The rest was new assets. Many things still didn't see any improvement. Building is frustrating as ever, balance is still off and management is - well, in my opinion it's a lost cause. And with the updates new bugs were introduced - I don't know but I don't think all the bugs introduced with 1.3 are fixed yet - and features like ride aging or the sequencer just seem sloppy and poorly designed.
Anyway, this alone wouldn't be such an issue if only Frontier was communicating! You can't expect people to just sit and wait month after month until the thing they're waiting for gets fixed. "Maybe it will, maybe it won't, you just be patient." Leaving the community in the dark has a major disadvantage: People don't know what they can realistically expect. Add to that the - as I see it - constant over-hyping of stuff and you can see where comments like you mentioned come from.
Many have become frustrated and its not because we can't appreciate what Frontier is doing. If you look closely you'll find few exceptions of people who don't have to say good and positive things about PC as well. Communication and a little bit more transparency* on Frontier's part is all it would take for people to have more patience and understanding.
*This includes adressing concerns about QoL, balance, coaster editor etc., owning up to self-imposed but still missed deadlines (there must be a good reason why the anniversary announcement was nothing like they said it would be), being clear about priorities.
