Originally posted by itgrowls
So let's recap. They've posted on FB and Twitter and because OP can't find it it's the worst communication ever even tho they are using both of the major and most used communication tools available to tell people what's happening. hmmm.

It's true that these are major communication outlets. But it doesn't make it acceptable. Not everyone followed Arena Net from the beginning. There are people who are buying this game even as we speak, who have no prior experience with Arena Net. They have no way to know this is how they get their information. Using 3rd party tools to relay official information is being irresponsible IMO.

I didn't expect, nor should I expect  that I'd need to go to Reddit, FB or Twiiter. Having not known this before, why is it my responsibility to try and find out how and where ANet will release information if not on their own site?

Originally posted by Biskop

Originally posted by bonzoso21
I also think it's completely unacceptable for such a hugely anticipated MMO to use third party networking sites as the primary way to communicate with their players, so much so that, along with the reports of widespread hacking and heavy handed suspensions being tossed around, it's enough to make me consider waiting to pick up the game until I read that their site is running efficiently and some of the kinks have been worked out. A dev/publisher that intends to maintain and support a AAA MMO needs to have a professional-looking official site with moderated forums, a server status page and regular communication with the players. Sure, ANet's Community Managers should use Facebook and Twitter to relay info to players and reach out to their community, but there's no way it can be their primary source if they want to stay among the top of the genre.   

Totally agree. I don't use facebook any longer for various reasons, and if a game practically forced me to start using it again just to stay updated on launch issues and payching, I would stop supporting the game in question.

Overall, I find these "everyone use facebook" arguments disturbing. It's not 2007 anymore, time to wake up and smell the napalm. Facebook is NOT used by everyone anymore. As a matter of fact, it's becoming a thing of yesterday as more and more people realize how fucking worthless, controlling and greedy it really is.

It's simply not acceptable for an AAA title launching in 2012 to force its players to use facebook or any other third-party software for that matter. I mean, this is like the most anticipated launch in years, and they can't even afford an official forum? Shit like that just sends out the wrong signal, honestly.

Pretty sure facebook is still quite huge. Everyone and their grandmother has a facebook. If it werent still huge would politicians have facebooks to communicate info to their followers? Would large corporations have facebook pages? Would game devs still make facebook and twitter pages to instantly deliver info to their player base? Hmm...everyone is using facebook there must be something to this facebook thing. Honestly, to ignore a medium for communication is to stay in the dark ages. Anet is just taking advantage of the resources available. you are not forced to make a facebook page to view their facebook page, seriously get a grip, man. They took down the forums to avoid bandwith issues with the game. Would you rather have an official forum and laggy gameplay or smooth gameplay with a hiccup here or there and still be in constant, instant contact with the devs via facebook/twitter. Honestly with their own homepage they have to do alot of extra work to make an update to it (add something to the news) granted its not moving mountains but more work is involved.

If you wanted to let THOUSANDS of people know about a problem you just discovered with a medication you released yesterday how would you do it? Through your official website, that not everyone visits, OR facebook that 90% of the population visits daily to keep in contact with friends and family. I'll pick........my official site and ensure mass casualties!

Of course major updates will be delivered via their homepage's news section, but small things like saying "we just finished fixing the bug on quest X" isnt worth the effort of posting it on the Homepage. So twitter it so players see it instantly. People seem to be missing the key term in all this..which is " INSTANT" . From the time it leaves 'O Brien's lips to the time intern number 34 types it on his keyboard theres about a what...1...2 second delay before you see it?

From the time O' Brien says update the homepage with A B and C and intern number 27 makes the page creates the stylesheet, adds a section to the XML ream and uploads it to the server theres what....45 minutes to maybe an hour and a half? Not very instant to me. By then players already know about the issue and are saying "Why isn't Anet working on this" or "Why are we in the dark about this issue's resolution"

Originally posted by GeezerGamer

Originally posted by itgrowls
So let's recap. They've posted on FB and Twitter and because OP can't find it it's the worst communication ever even tho they are using both of the major and most used communication tools available to tell people what's happening. hmmm.

It's true that these are major communication outlets. But it doesn't make it acceptable. Not everyone followed Arena Net from the beginning. There are people who are buying this game even as we speak, who have no prior experience with Arena Net. They have no way to know this is how they get their information. Using 3rd party tools to relay official information is being irresponsible IMO.

I didn't expect, nor should I expect  that I'd need to go to Reddit, FB or Twiiter. Having not known this before, why is it my responsibility to try and find out how and where ANet will release information if not on their own site?

I actually agree that all this info should be listed in real time on their own web site. Absolutely. A Twitter feed would do.

Buuuut... saying that... I personally don't cut myself off from all modern avenues of internet information delivery so i don't feel the pain some might.

I personally fully understand, as a gamer on the modern internet, that this is how it is done now. ANet are hardly the first... I have followed numerous launches that used these forms. I personally understand, from previous experience, that if I choose to not participate in these delivery streams then I am choosing to cut myself off from the information. There comes a point where I have to realise that cutting myself off from these sources is no reason to moan at someone else.

Adapt or spend your time whinging. Thats just the reality.

Originally posted by Shubawkss
They've been consistently posting updates on Twitter and Facebook - you know, that thing the other 90% of the world uses, and you are trying to be #1 against? Yeah, that thing - yous hould try it sometime.

The other 90% who aren't gamers?

Face it Facebook is simply another take on AOL which was abandoned because we didn't need two internets. Don't worry, people will finally figure that one out.

This isn't GW1's launch, that's for sure.

To me the official web site is the place we should go to get official word. And no Facebook is not an official site for any serious product. That's just the way it is.

Originally posted by Eberhardt

Pretty sure facebook is still quite huge. Everyone and their grandmother has a facebook. If it werent still huge would politicians have facebooks to communicate info to their followers? Would large corporations have facebook pages? Would game devs still make facebook and twitter pages to instantly deliver info to their player base? Hmm...everyone is using facebook there must be something to this facebook thing. Honestly, to ignore a medium for communication is to stay in the dark ages. Anet is just taking advantage of the resources available. you are not forced to make a facebook page to view their facebook page, seriously get a grip, man. They took down the forums to avoid bandwith issues with the game. Would you rather have an official forum and laggy gameplay or smooth gameplay with a hiccup here or there and still be in constant, instant contact with the devs via facebook/twitter. Honestly with their own homepage they have to do alot of extra work to make an update to it (add something to the news) granted its not moving mountains but more work is involved.

If you wanted to let THOUSANDS of people know about a problem you just discovered with a medication you released yesterday how would you do it? Through your official website, that not everyone visits, OR facebook that 90% of the population visits daily to keep in contact with friends and family. I'll pick........my official site and ensure mass casualties!

Of course major updates will be delivered via their homepage's news section, but small things like saying "we just finished fixing the bug on quest X" isnt worth the effort of posting it on the Homepage. So twitter it so players see it instantly. People seem to be missing the key term in all this..which is " INSTANT" . From the time it leaves 'O Brien's lips to the time intern number 34 types it on his keyboard theres about a what...1...2 second delay before you see it?

From the time O' Brien says update the homepage with A B and C and intern number 27 makes the page creates the stylesheet, adds a section to the XML ream and uploads it to the server theres what....45 minutes to maybe an hour and a half? Not very instant to me. By then players already know about the issue and are saying "Why isn't Anet working on this" or "Why are we in the dark about this issue's resolution"

Sorry, but throwing random percentages and estimates around doesn't make you right.

First of all, which population are you refering to? The world population? Please show the numbers indicating that 90% of humanity use facebook on a daily basis.

Or perhaps you are American, and really mean "citizens of the US" when you refer to "the population". If so, you may be right about the 90% (doubt it though) but that still doesn't support your stance - not everyone who bought GW2 live in the US.

Secondly, using phrases like "staying in the dark ages" when talking about individuals who don't use every available information channel on the net is very short-sighted. Perhaps some people don't enjoy having to sort through constant spam updates from multiple social media services just to get info on a game they paid for? Perhaps they prefer using the company's own site and forum once in a while, like they do with every other game they play?

It's so bizarre that you people defend this unprofessional conduct with some sort of "social media is the future, stop living in the past" arguments. Of course it's good that a developer uses every information outlet available - but not having a functional, informative site of your own with all information in one place and a moderated forum for community interaction is just bad.

It gives the signal that Anet either prefer that players don't discuss their product publicly, can't afford/are too cheap for a professional site, or can't manage to run the site/forums properly. Neither of which is a message they will profit from.

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Originally posted by Fendel84M Anet seems to be going out of their way to keep players in the dark. Still no official forums, they are constantly patching without any notes, trading post has been down for 5 days now without any word(at least not that i've seen).And now mail doesnt work either, so there is effectively no way to trade between players. I checked their Twitter but that just seems full of players looking for tech support(since there  are no forums) and the twitter response sending them to contact support. Facebook just seems to have pictures of cake and posts about launch parties. I really don't normally complain, but I just thought it was worth mentioned that i've played many MMOs at launch and never has one left their players so in the dark about major features being turned off.

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They are keeping their player base update via twitter, facebook, and reddit... Just because you choose to not look at these as a means of communication doesn't mean others dont. Also, the patches are SERVER SIDE FIXES. Do you really want to see "fix stability issue 12894743257810"

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Originally posted by Biskop

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Originally posted by Eberhardt Pretty sure facebook is still quite huge. Everyone and their grandmother has a facebook. If it werent still huge would politicians have facebooks to communicate info to their followers? Would large corporations have facebook pages? Would game devs still make facebook and twitter pages to instantly deliver info to their player base? Hmm...everyone is using facebook there must be something to this facebook thing. Honestly, to ignore a medium for communication is to stay in the dark ages. Anet is just taking advantage of the resources available. you are not forced to make a facebook page to view their facebook page, seriously get a grip, man. They took down the forums to avoid bandwith issues with the game. Would you rather have an official forum and laggy gameplay or smooth gameplay with a hiccup here or there and still be in constant, instant contact with the devs via facebook/twitter. Honestly with their own homepage they have to do alot of extra work to make an update to it (add something to the news) granted its not moving mountains but more work is involved. If you wanted to let THOUSANDS of people know about a problem you just discovered with a medication you released yesterday how would you do it? Through your official website, that not everyone visits, OR facebook that 90% of the population visits daily to keep in contact with friends and family. I'll pick........my official site and ensure mass casualties! Of course major updates will be delivered via their homepage's news section, but small things like saying "we just finished fixing the bug on quest X" isnt worth the effort of posting it on the Homepage. So twitter it so players see it instantly. People seem to be missing the key term in all this..which is " INSTANT" . From the time it leaves 'O Brien's lips to the time intern number 34 types it on his keyboard theres about a what...1...2 second delay before you see it? From the time O' Brien says update the homepage with A B and C and intern number 27 makes the page creates the stylesheet, adds a section to the XML ream and uploads it to the server theres what....45 minutes to maybe an hour and a half? Not very instant to me. By then players already know about the issue and are saying "Why isn't Anet working on this" or "Why are we in the dark about this issue's resolution"

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Sorry, but throwing random percentages and estimates around doesn't make you right. First of all, which population are you refering to? The world population? Please show the numbers indicating that 90% of humanity use facebook on a daily basis. Or perhaps you are American, and really mean "citizens of the US" when you refer to "the population". If so, you may be right about the 90% (doubt it though) but that still doesn't support your stance - not everyone who bought GW2 live in the US. Secondly, using phrases like "staying in the dark ages" when talking about individuals who don't use every available information channel on the net is very short-sighted. Perhaps some people don't enjoy having to sort through constant spam updates from multiple social media services just to get info on a game they paid for? Perhaps they prefer using the company's own site and forum once in a while, like they do with every other game they play? It's so bizarre that you people defend this unprofessional conduct with some sort of "social media is the future, stop living in the past" arguments. Of course it's good that a developer uses every information outlet available - but not having a functional, informative site of your own with all information in one place and a moderated forum for community interaction is just bad. It gives the signal that Anet either prefer that players don't discuss their product publicly, can't afford/are too cheap for a professional site, or can't manage to run the site/forums properly. Neither of which is a message they will profit from.

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Or, as they said, they don't want the extra work load both on servers and staff to run the forums? Unlike other game companies, ANET hosts everything themselves to have complete control and keep upkeep cost down.

Originally posted by xpiher

 

Or, as they said, they don't want the extra work load both on servers and staff to run the forums? Unlike other game companies, ANET hosts everything themselves to have complete control and keep upkeep cost down.

You make it sound as if this is a small indie company working with limited resources, when in reality we're talking about one of the biggest and most hyped up/anticipated AAA launches of all time.

Surely they could afford a working forum, claiming otherwise is either ignorant or insane.

Originally posted by Biskop

Originally posted by xpiher

 

Or, as they said, they don't want the extra work load both on servers and staff to run the forums? Unlike other game companies, ANET hosts everything themselves to have complete control and keep upkeep cost down.

You make it sound as if this is a small indie company working with limited resources, when in reality we're talking about one of the biggest and most hyped up/anticipated AAA launches of all time.

Surely they could afford a working forum, claiming otherwise is either ignorant or insane.

Theyre not actually a huge company, especially in comparison to Blizz, Bioware, etc. Theyve made one game, which was failry succesful, and have approx 250 employees (pretty damn small considering the work theyve done and the popularity GW2 has gotten). Blizzard has approx 7500-8000 employees, Bioware has about 1k to themselves, not to mention the massive staff & resources under EAs umbrella (SWTOR - most expensive MMO ever made by a lot).

250 is a really small number to be working with in undertaking such a big MMO releasing worldwide. Hell I work for a fairly small university with only a couple thousand students and we have twice the staff Anet does, thats our own internal staff, not counting professors.

Anyway as i posted in another thread, they werent even going to have official forums a couple months ago. They were going to let that aspect be run by the commmunity, just like with GW1, through sites like GWguru. After some debate and large demand for it they caved and said they will have official forums. So its still kind of a work in progress, and theyve got much bigger issues to worry about, like things in the actual game to fix, rather than focusing on forums. Forums and stuff will be up soon, but theyre hardly a top priority when they have been using other methods of communication throughout the entire development of the game.

Originally posted by Fendel84M

Anet seems to be going out of their way to keep players in the dark. Still no official forums, they are constantly patching without any notes, trading post has been down for 5 days now without any word(at least not that i've seen).And now mail doesnt work either, so there is effectively no way to trade between players.

I checked their Twitter but that just seems full of players looking for tech support(since there  are no forums) and the twitter response sending them to contact support. Facebook just seems to have pictures of cake and posts about launch parties.

I really don't normally complain, but I just thought it was worth mentioned that i've played many MMOs at launch and never has one left their players so in the dark about major features being turned off.

I don't blame Anet at this point.  They gave us a good mmo.  I'm absolutely sure they are trying very hard to fix everything.  They gave us a lot of open bata time and stress test to ensure a good launch.  Sure things went bad but THEY BENT OVER BACK WORDS TO TRY !!!.

Forums would be negative bitching...........They already know everything wrong, they don't need anyone telling them stuff they already know. They also know what they are changing in patches, like every mmo they are not looking for players advice right now...........That will come later....Right now they are fixing stuff.

They don't need 500 topics of " where is the auction house ? "..............Untill then go to work, go to school, go out side and relax instead of sitting around in you under garments.  Maybe even take a shower !

ArenaNetTeam

Originally posted by vee41
If anything ArenaNet communication has been A+. Check Their facebook. Twitter. Reddit posts. They are all over communities informing people of what is going even if it just saying "we are working on it".

They give A+ so easily nowadays? Back in the days, extremely few errors were tolerated if you wanted to get an A+. 

Originally posted by Psychow

Originally posted by Deolus
Twitter is their first line of communication.

 

Do we have to have a Twitter account to keep up with their announcements? I don't use Twitter so don't know the answer to this.

If you care about keeping up to speed with what Anet is doing, for Pete's sake make a Twitter account

Originally posted by TwoThreeFour

Originally posted by vee41
If anything ArenaNet communication has been A+. Check Their facebook. Twitter. Reddit posts. They are all over communities informing people of what is going even if it just saying "we are working on it".

They give A+ so easily nowadays? Back in the days, extremely few errors were tolerated if you wanted to get an A+. 

Where exactly have they gone wrong? There has been lots of communication from ArenaNet, what else could you ask for?

Originally posted by vee41
If anything ArenaNet communication has been A+. Check Their facebook. Twitter. Reddit posts. They are all over communities informing people of what is going even if it just saying "we are working on it".

And that is a good thing??

A+

"We dont have own forums ,we have something better,google it"

Oh my god,

A launch with problems.

Lag mail system not working forum turned off so people dont spam "LAG! "MAIL NOT WORKING!" and all the stuff they ALREADY KNOW!

Yeah I see this is very bad. Cus no other MMO launch had this.

Oh wait. How long did it take before you could  even log into diablo 3? At least its possible to level up atm.

Really, this is extremely poor behavior.

They need forums with news updates (hell, they need forums period!), or they need a section on their website with updates.

I just got kicked out of a dungeon after over an hour, just a random loading screen back to the front. I don't know if this is a "feature" of some kind, or a common issue. Players need official support forums, it's a standard MMO feature that is very important for the health of a game, especially a buggy one such as GW2 currently is.

Twitter is their main line of communication? seriously?

Originally posted by vee41

Originally posted by TwoThreeFour

Originally posted by vee41
If anything ArenaNet communication has been A+. Check Their facebook. Twitter. Reddit posts. They are all over communities informing people of what is going even if it just saying "we are working on it".

They give A+ so easily nowadays? Back in the days, extremely few errors were tolerated if you wanted to get an A+. 

Where exactly have they gone wrong? There has been lots of communication from ArenaNet, what else could you ask for?

By not updating their main page nearly much as they could have and what is expected of a serious MMORPG company. 

Edit: Not having a somewhat working official forum at this point of the game's lifecycle can also be considered as a major flaw. 

Originally posted by MikeJezZ

Oh my god,

 

A launch with problems.

 

Lag mail system not working forum turned off so people dont spam "LAG! "MAIL NOT WORKING!" and all the stuff they ALREADY KNOW!

 

Yeah I see this is very bad. Cus no other MMO launch had this.

 

Oh wait. How long did it take before you could  even log into diablo 3? At least its possible to level up atm.

Idiot consumers are backing up the system with retarded tickets which they could fix themselves if they JUST FUCKING GOOGLED IT.