Where are the DEVS?

[Jens Erik]

Bearcat9948 said:
@Jens Erik

I'm sorry to be so blunt, but there are still so many things we don't have answers for, and it's a bit ridiculous to be honest.

Why hasn't custom audio been implemented months after the update? In the initial post for the 1.5 announcement it states "As we're currently working on Custom Audio, we will be sharing an update for when you can expect to see them at a later date.", but this never came.

Why haven't we been updated on things like aardvarks getting access to the termite mounds, or diving requirements being reduced?

It's fine if you say "the team will take a look at this" when we ask you guys about stuff, what isn't ok is going months (or for the aardvark thing over a year in that instance) without ever coming back to it. I don't know if it's an issue of being disorganized, lack of interest, higher ups telling you not to engage with us or what. But something about your system clearly needs to be improved.

The worst part about it is I know that you do pay attention to the feedback we provide, and our wishlists etc. All we want is more constant communication with you guys.
Click to expand...

Hey Bearcat,

I understand your frustrations and I'll try to provide you with what information I can!

• Custom audio is still being worked on and we should have more news to share soon™
• The Aardvark is something we would like to get to eventually
• We're currently investigating changes to depth requirements, but until we're sure about the scope of the changes I'm unfortunately not able to provide additional details

 

[Antmar97]

@Jens Erik, i don't want to be greedy because i'm sure you've already seen the comment in the update thread, but don't forget the Malayan Tapir too, there are some problems with one leg and general model, consider have a second look on it too please.I just hope it will be fixed in a future update, like the dhole and the binturong, and having an answer about this would be even better, Thanks

 

[Swjosdotschka]

Thank you @Jens Erik for addressing some of the issues we mentioned here. "Soon" is indeed trademarked by Fronter But better "soon" then never. I'll keep my fingers crossed for the Devs that they find a way to change the deep dive requirement, so that us realism nerds can build realistic habitats.

For the delay of the Aardvark I have a different theory, but it's at least one, that makes me hopeful and excited.

 

[Aramar]

For the delay of the Aardvark I have a different theory, but it's at least one, that makes me hopeful and excited.

Maybe the delay is similar to the delay of implementing deep diving to the gharial: waiting for the perfect timing and matching a new DLC.

 

[FoxyDee]

Thanks for the answers Jens, this is all we have hoped for in the communication. Simple reassurement that the team is still looking into those things and they were not forgotten is greatly appreciated and it goes a long way.

 

[HeatherG]

I know its hard to see features we want in the game that are taking a while to impliment, but on a good note it not a definite "no".

 

[Bearcat9948]

Sdanwolf and BeyondDrewTV make some excellent points in their most recent podcast. If I was a CM, and I wanted that to be my career, why on Earth would I want to work at Frontier as anything but a stepping stone to get to somewhere better? Frontier treats their CMs with almost as much disregard as they do us, the PZ community.

If I was a CM, and I had the choice of working at Frontier, where my managers have forbid from actively engaging with the community on the forums and social media on most topics, and then I have the opportunity to work somewhere like Bo does now, I know what I would pick 10/10 times. I can't imagine the PZ CMs (which is funny because we technically don't even have a CM right now) actually enjoy their jobs that much.

Social media posts are quite shallow and just spew out animal facts no one cares about, the account is operated by a bot most days for crying out loud.

I'm at the point were I don't think PZ will be a game worth playing (in my mind) until at least a year from now, and that's only if they implement some big new mechanics that change the way the game is played. And that's honestly a pretty big if.

PZ claims to be the spiritual successor to ZT2, but it is not nearly as magical or engaging as that game was. My hopes for a good zoo game now reside with Blue Meridian, the main studio behind PK. Using their engine, I think they could make a far superior game than what PZ is right now.

 

[Firestar97]

If I was a CM, and I had the choice of working at Frontier, where my managers have forbid from actively engaging with the community on the forums and social media on most topics

Is that confirmed?
If so, what's the Reason?

 

[Bearcat9948]

Is that confirmed?
If so, what's the Reason?

No, it isn't confirmed, but it is incredibly obvious, wouldn't you say? Because otherwise, the only other reason for constant silence between dlc announcements is that every single CM involved with PZ is actively choosing not to engage with us, which I would say is very unlikely, right?

 

[12344321]

"Social media posts are quite shallow and just spew out animal facts no one cares about, the account is operated by a bot most days for crying out loud."

1000 fans: when is the next dlc? And will it implement new mechanics

Planet Zoo: count the otters

This perfectly sums up planet zoos interactions with their "fans". I'm utterly shocked they didn't remove it for being critical.

 

[HeatherG]

(which is funny because we technically don't even have a CM right now)

We do have CM's. They are Tim Smith (leaf community manager) and Jens Erik (Senior Community Manager). Chante was the one we saw mostly, meaning on Streams.

 

[Bearcat9948]

We do have CM's. They are Tim Smith (leaf community manager) and Jens Erik (Senior Community Manager). Chante was the one we saw mostly, meaning on Streams.

But we don't really have any PZ CMs. As in a dedicated PZ lead. Jay was the closest thing since Chante left, but now he's gone as well. I think Tim is considered to technically be our lead CM...dude has a grand total of 7(!) posts relating to PZ on the forum from 2021. It's May....

And when YouTuber's, the lifesblood of Frontier's marketing strategy, are saying they've never even had a conversation with Tim, that tells me things are worse than they've ever been.

 

[FoxyDee]

I do think community lead managers do not interact with the community that much, but rather oversee the rest of the CMs. But since Chante left, Tim had to take on the job of announcing patches, reading forum and so on until they will hire someone dedicated to PZ. As I have noticed, Jay was mostly PC, Jens was JWE and Chante was PZ.
Now they will have to split all 3 games between 2 people before hiring new CMs.

 

[Tobs]

Just remember that CM aren´t necessary passionate about PZ.

I am passionate about PZ and most of the time I roll my eyes when I read the forum. IMHO there´s a lot of clutter - a lot.

Now if I weren´t passionate about PZ and had to check the forum "coz I´m the CM", I´d go crazy. I truly appreciate CM in this regard.

The issue is that with all the clutter, it´s quite difficult to "spot" the interesting posts, questions, analysis, etc. And I think that´s what happens in the PZ forums. As many of us have realised, quite often if you want an answer to a question, the best option is to ask it in the latest official PZ update thread.

Despite this, I also agree that the way Frontier communicates new with the community is not what we like. Frontier knows what they are doing, that´s the way they operate and if they´ve decided not to share anything until it´s scheduled for release in the next 2-3 weeks, no news. And CM have no say about it. It is the way it is. I´d like to see some development journals for upcoming updates and DLCs, but, hey, that´s not how Frontier operates. I don´t like it, but have to accept it.

P.S. 1:"the bot that operates the social media platforms" is just a platform designed for CM / content creators, that help you organise your posts. It´s mostly used to schedule posts so you don´t have to sit in front of the PC to press "publish" whenever 5pm hits. It does so automatically.

P.S. 2: I don´t know in other parts of the world, but in Europe, you tend to escalate your skills and experience in larger corporations (until you can´t develop further) before you shoot off to other places. Also, in the particular case of Cambridge, it´s not the most exciting place to live (it´s a very nice place for sure, but the initial exciting fades after a couple of years).

P.S.3: from the information I´ve gathered, Frontier has a specific person that interact with influencers (aka content creators), (spoiler, it´s not a CM).

 

[Swjosdotschka]

We do have CM's. They are Tim Smith (leaf community manager) and Jens Erik (Senior Community Manager). Chante was the one we saw mostly, meaning on Streams.

Leaf manager is the very best typo in the whole forum, though! Yes, someone definitely HAS to manage our bad boy @Leaf Productions

All jokes aside, as far as I know Tim has no contact to the content creators and I'm in this forum every day and even had to check who he is. Probably not his fault, he might be under the "don't talk to your customers" rule everyone else seem to have signed after the South America pack. I don't know if it even makes sense anymore to ask for more open, regular communication.

 

[Firestar97]

Leaf manager is the very best typo in the whole forum, though! Yes, someone definitely HAS to manage our bad boy @Leaf Productions

Wait a Second. I thought a Leaf Manager is someone who cleans up Leaves that lay around the Building

 

[markun]

Just remember that CM aren´t necessary passionate about PZ.

I am passionate about PZ and most of the time I roll my eyes when I read the forum. IMHO there´s a lot of clutter - a lot.

Now if I weren´t passionate about PZ and had to check the forum "coz I´m the CM", I´d go crazy. I truly appreciate CM in this regard.

The issue is that with all the clutter, it´s quite difficult to "spot" the interesting posts, questions, analysis, etc. And I think that´s what happens in the PZ forums. As many of us have realised, quite often if you want an answer to a question, the best option is to ask it in the latest official PZ update thread.

But it's their job. We all have bits of our jobs, or studies, that we don't want to do or find less rewarding. But we have to do them. We can't just ignore them whether we like it or not.

 

[Leaf Productions]

Leaf manager is the very best typo in the whole forum, though! Yes, someone definitely HAS to manage our bad boy @Leaf Productions

I'm a force to be reckoned with!

But yeah, I'm not really a fan of the silence in between waiting periods and I really wish we had more opportunities to engage with Frontier and the Devs. Even like a biweekly livestream could be a fun chance to ask questions about upcoming packs, plans, etc.

 

[Bearcat9948]

Can you imagine if they did a monthly devlog like Blue Meridian has been doing for PK since last Fall? Ugh, that would be so amazing. Of course, I've given up on hoping for that lol, because Frontier hates communication with their consumers (unless it's time to sell something)

 

[NL_Mutso]

Can you imagine if they did a monthly devlog like Blue Meridian has been doing for PK since last Fall? Ugh, that would be so amazing. Of course, I've given up on hoping for that lol, because Frontier hates communication with their consumers (unless it's time to sell something)

They are kinda obligated to do that (kickstarter funded game), they already received some backlash when they stopped communicating for a while.

Is that confirmed?
If so, what's the Reason?

No, but I think it has to do with tin foil hats.