2013-09-23, 10:04 PM
Aurtax Wrote:I am big on being open and being candid in my conversations, there are definitely times when that is not possible as well as a line where timing comes into play a bit too. An example of this would be when we have emergency maintenance to resolve an exploit currently being taken advantage of; it's important we don't open that information up and let the hackers know we are running investigations. This is just one example, but I wanted to try and shed light on why complete honesty isn't always the best policy. Another would be deadlines being pushed; reveiling content too soon can be a double edged sword for us. While some players may be extremely excited to hear what is coming down the pipeline we lose a lot of face if we promise something and it doesn't come to fruition.
That being said, I am constantly listening to players on multiple channels. Fansites and Official ones alike! Just because you don't see me reply doesn't always mean I haven't seen something. I also lurk at times so my name doesn't always appear in the "read" section. :0P
We've been in talks about this. No promises *see above*
Echoing what [MENTION=4235]KhainiWest[/MENTION]; was saying, perhaps you should read a few more of the posts throughout this topic. I don't believe anyone is asking for exclusive information about new content or advanced notification of an exploit that may tip hackers off. I understand that you are just giving an example, but that is a very specific one that doesn't really give me a good idea of what your point is, at least. I'm sure a lot of players would agree that pumping out new content, although some of which is very cool, isn't really helping the situation. So, again, I don't quite get your point. Please feel free to clarify if I am somehow way off the mark.
If I can be candid as well, although I get the whole faceless multi-million dollar company PR campaign, it's pretty surprising that a gaming company based on the internet would operate in such a way for this length of time. It is 2013, not 1983. I don't want to shoot the messenger by any means, but the general impression many players get is that Nexon knows as much about how to balance MapleStory and ensure its longevity as they do about rocket science. It's great that you read a lot of posts on fan sites and the official forums and it's understandable that you cannot respond to every one of them, but I personally, and I know many others also feel this way, feel like it is and always has been a one way conversation. In the age of social media, this is unacceptable, and I think it is becoming very apparent that things aren't going so great in the court of public opinion. Most players don't know that you are reading their posts and what specifically is getting back to those who make decisions at Nexon. I don't think it would be too difficult to have a consistent two-way conversation going on.
To be blunt, actions speak louder than words. Time and time again we have heard that Nexon is making changes and is listening to the community and time and time again decisions have been made that have negatively affected the ability of players to compete fairly. MapleStory has clearly been taken for granted as the guaranteed cash cow and in my opinion, Nexon America has run MapleGlobal into the ground repeatedly.
Your community managers can spin things any way they want, but no one is buying it anymore. If that was true, you wouldn't see several of the most-talked about topics on ANY MapleStory fan site complaining about the game and Nexon, the vast majority of tickets wouldn't be going unanswered for months, players wouldn't be complaining about being wrongfully banned and having to fight tooth and nail for fair compensation. I would be very interested to hear your thoughts on why over the past year some of the biggest MapleStory fan sites around have closed shop or gone inactive. People are getting past the point of just complaining - they're leaving. You can fix things if you address a customer's complaint quickly and reasonably enough, but after a while they just stop complaining and leave.
Although your post is appreciated, Nexon has come late to the party. You can spin quarterly profits however you want, but anyone who logs into MapleStory or one of your other games sees a huge drop in the amount of players, and enthusiasm. If you have taken the time to go through the 9 pages in this topic, then you probably see the consistent hopelessness many players feel toward the current state, and future, of MapleStory. GM events, cash shop giveaways, and 2x EXP events will only keep people satisfied for so long.
Others may disagree with me on several points, but as someone who has played this game faithfully since 2005, has run a website that has helped to promote your game for 6 years as a player and someone who was once passionate about this game and wanted to continue to engage with the community and promote the game, I feel abandoned and like the time I spent was wasted. The reasons for my feelings are varied, but mainly revolve around the current pay-to-win model you have implemented and the horrific customer support and community relations. As a customer I do not feel respected and like my business is appreciated. I think I will take my business elsewhere.
All this being said, as others have said, I wish you luck in your endeavor to get something beneficial and meaningful done swiftly enough to actually have an impact and retain what is left of your playerbase.