Survey Results!

Slyphe

Hello everybody! As you're all aware, we recently created a customer satisfaction survey for you guys to take part in completing. First and foremost, thank you to all that took the time to do so! We were provided with some fantastic insight as to the current status of the game from a player viewpoint. 

While it was mentioned in the post that the responses were all completely anonymous, (and they were) I thought it would be interesting to share with you guys some of the snippets from the data we received now that submissions seem to have pretty much come to an end.

(If you still wish to speak your mind; however, we will be checking up periodically for a little while yet on it, feel free to complete it if you haven't yet!)

First we've got a breakdown of the classes you guys find yourselves playing the most:

As you can see, Syssin seems to take the cake here with the most! Unfortunately; however, the Zealots come in dead last with a teeny tiny 0.

Next up we've got the average playtime of the players sampled, in hours per week:

Lots of active players here! 

Next we've got the things people enjoy the most about Aetolia:

Not exactly shocking results here, especially in regards to RP. Good for you guys that found hunting a major aspect though!

Then onto the opposite side of the spectrum, the things least enjoyed:

Politics taking the cake here! An interesting result for sure.

And last but not least, to end on a positive note, I'll share my favorite snippet under the 'Any further comments' section:

"Please make Ferrik the hero of the werecroc release event."

Omei

All hail @Ferrik, Warlord of the Werecrocodiles.

Sarita

I guess I missed the announcement about this completely. Is it a link or something in game?

Slyphe

There was a link in an announce post! I'm not logged on at the moment or I'd grab it for you.

Moirean

Share more! (Was it really that small? Heh)

Obligatory "it was a self-selecting group so results may be skewed" stuff, but still, interesting results!

Neithan

The Daru regularly have 6-7 people online lately. One doesn't even know Zealot and two switch between Templar/Zealot and Luminary/Zealot respectively.

Just uh, thought I should point out that some of us DO exist.

Sarita

goo.gl/SWQFF1  is it in case anyone else felt clueless too.

Ferrik

Ohsh--aaadoooooken!

WELL! I guess that makes it official guys! >.>

You.. you gotta give.. the people.. what .. the people want after all <.<

Veovis

It would be nice to see some analysis of the qualitative parts of the survey. 

Ilyon

It would be interesting to see more insights into why so many players are finding combat unattractive - I can see several possible reasons, but the actual ones could be different entirely.

Not surprised on the politics dislike, it's just a headache all around.

Veovis

For me the combat system is fairly underwhelming. I have a system because it's hard to PK without one, but the system makes combat pretty easy. 

Combat moves too quickly for me to keep pace with it without a lot of automation. When I started playing Achaea in 1997 I only needed aliases and highlights, but now if you put two equally geared, leveled, and artifacted characters together in a duel the one with the better system will win. 

I would probably enjoy combat if it was slower and relied less upon automation.

Valdus

There's unfortunately zero ways to reduce automation unless we deliberately obfuscate more of the information being sent from the server, such as reducing what GMCP sends and removing things such as affview configs, discernment, etc. Even then, sophisticated systems are still very capable of tracking these things (see the system SVO in Achaea, a game that has not changed the information provided to the player in a very long time), so the differences between advanced systems and beginner systems would become all that more telling.

The only other option is for the playerbase to encourage an automation-free atmosphere, which is also extremely unlikely to happen.

We have discussed a combat slowdown and collected the vast majority of the data for such a thing, so it's something you will probably see in the future (Though we have already started with the recent ~7% slowdown from the removal of level two balances).

Rowena

Can we also get an indication of what people want to see the most in the future?

Did that align or contradict with any plans you may have already had? 

Iosyne

Many of those such responses were right in line with what we expected - a few common threads among the responses were the expected grumblings over response time, seeking greater transparency in a few areas, and asking for more frequent small-scale events as opposed to mega-events where everyone tries to get involved. Continuity issues, plots being picked up and abandoned, were also a common theme.

None of it was particularly surprising or eye-opening, and a lot of it was very encouraging to read as well - the amount of positive feedback especially regarding how things have changed in the past year was very heartening to read.

Slyphe

I think we're going to stick with just the data that's present here already. The qualitative type data consists of things we've been reviewing ourselves, and could potentially give somewhat of an indication as to who had taken part in the survey, which isn't something I'd feel comfortable releasing.

Additionally, some of the responses were (as expected) on both ends of the spectrum with some being absolutely positive and happy, but others quite the opposite. I could see that sparking to life some arguments, so we're going to just avoid that altogether. 

As for what people wanting to see aligning or contradicting with plans already had? Without going into too much detail, both cases were quite present here. 

Irruel

I ticked shaman/sentinel as the classes I play most, but to be honest - if I could get high health as a shaman-friendly statpack, I wouldn't have ticked sentinel at all. If I had a bashing friendly multiclass, I would probably play it instead of sentinel.

I just feel it's important to say that, given the apparent low popularity of shaman.

I'd also play lycan if I didn't hate the current state of pre-restoration forcing lycans to forgo their dedicated limb damage skills (i.e. targeted claws and flurry) in favour of hamstring/rend.

Toz

Valdus said:

There's unfortunately zero ways to reduce automation unless we deliberately obfuscate more of the information being sent from the server, such as reducing what GMCP sends and removing things such as affview configs, discernment, etc. Even then, sophisticated systems are still very capable of tracking these things (see the system SVO in Achaea, a game that has not changed the information provided to the player in a very long time), so the differences between advanced systems and beginner systems would become all that more telling.

The only other option is for the playerbase to encourage an automation-free atmosphere, which is also extremely unlikely to happen.

We have discussed a combat slowdown and collected the vast majority of the data for such a thing, so it's something you will probably see in the future (Though we have already started with the recent ~7% slowdown from the removal of level two balances).

Having been messing around with lycan lately, one thing that's frustrating about the current state of combat is the odd tracking disparity between aff-based classes and limb classes. Currently, it's relatively straightforward to code out an offense for an aff-based class, meaning you don't have to be able to do a thing except press a button and wait to receive your win. As a limb class, you are supposedly expected to manual, and this is okay because of the higher 'tolerance' for a limb class? The trouble with this is, obviously, you are making it a game of skill again instead of a game of coding, two separate challenges, one of which will always function exactly as its told, and the other that can fall victim to human failures. So, if you as an administration have accepted AIs as an inevitability, keep making things more noob-friendly and try to expand the options available to classes - give limb classes a way to see limb damage done and limb damage healed, just like aff classes can track when venoms come off weapons/what effects are cured (discernment). Right now, combat is in some sort of weird state of flux - I can name 2 people who fight and use limb damage other than shatter instead of an aff-class, and frankly that speaks volumes in and of itself.

Mireia

I have to echo that I also didn't realize this survey existed and that there are obviously more than zero people around who use the zealot class. Now I shall scamper off to fill mine out and +1 that for y'all. 

Moirean

Toz said:

Valdus said:

There's unfortunately zero ways to reduce automation unless we deliberately obfuscate more of the information being sent from the server, such as reducing what GMCP sends and removing things such as affview configs, discernment, etc. Even then, sophisticated systems are still very capable of tracking these things (see the system SVO in Achaea, a game that has not changed the information provided to the player in a very long time), so the differences between advanced systems and beginner systems would become all that more telling.

The only other option is for the playerbase to encourage an automation-free atmosphere, which is also extremely unlikely to happen.

We have discussed a combat slowdown and collected the vast majority of the data for such a thing, so it's something you will probably see in the future (Though we have already started with the recent ~7% slowdown from the removal of level two balances).

Having been messing around with lycan lately, one thing that's frustrating about the current state of combat is the odd tracking disparity between aff-based classes and limb classes. Currently, it's relatively straightforward to code out an offense for an aff-based class, meaning you don't have to be able to do a thing except press a button and wait to receive your win. As a limb class, you are supposedly expected to manual, and this is okay because of the higher 'tolerance' for a limb class? The trouble with this is, obviously, you are making it a game of skill again instead of a game of coding, two separate challenges, one of which will always function exactly as its told, and the other that can fall victim to human failures. So, if you as an administration have accepted AIs as an inevitability, keep making things more noob-friendly and try to expand the options available to classes - give limb classes a way to see limb damage done and limb damage healed, just like aff classes can track when venoms come off weapons/what effects are cured (discernment). Right now, combat is in some sort of weird state of flux - I can name 2 people who fight and use limb damage other than shatter instead of an aff-class, and frankly that speaks volumes in and of itself.

There was a report up to address this, but it was denied.

Aryanne

As one of the people who marked combat in my dislike, here's my explanation:
I don't do it, so it's one of the things I enjoy least as the question was phrased. I'm pretty sure I'm in the extreme minority for the playerbase in my near-complete-lack of coding skills and general lack of desire to learn. For me, the system is overwhelming and I simply do not have the time or ambition to try to learn anything beyond simplistic bashing.

Sessizlik

Aryanne said:

As one of the people who marked combat in my dislike, here's my explanation:
I don't do it, so it's one of the things I enjoy least as the question was phrased. I'm pretty sure I'm in the extreme minority for the playerbase in my near-complete-lack of coding skills and general lack of desire to learn. For me, the system is overwhelming and I simply do not have the time or ambition to try to learn anything beyond simplistic bashing.

This.

Saybre

Toz said:

Valdus said:

There's unfortunately zero ways to reduce automation unless we deliberately obfuscate more of the information being sent from the server, such as reducing what GMCP sends and removing things such as affview configs, discernment, etc. Even then, sophisticated systems are still very capable of tracking these things (see the system SVO in Achaea, a game that has not changed the information provided to the player in a very long time), so the differences between advanced systems and beginner systems would become all that more telling.

The only other option is for the playerbase to encourage an automation-free atmosphere, which is also extremely unlikely to happen.

We have discussed a combat slowdown and collected the vast majority of the data for such a thing, so it's something you will probably see in the future (Though we have already started with the recent ~7% slowdown from the removal of level two balances).

Having been messing around with lycan lately, one thing that's frustrating about the current state of combat is the odd tracking disparity between aff-based classes and limb classes. Currently, it's relatively straightforward to code out an offense for an aff-based class, meaning you don't have to be able to do a thing except press a button and wait to receive your win. As a limb class, you are supposedly expected to manual, and this is okay because of the higher 'tolerance' for a limb class? The trouble with this is, obviously, you are making it a game of skill again instead of a game of coding, two separate challenges, one of which will always function exactly as its told, and the other that can fall victim to human failures. So, if you as an administration have accepted AIs as an inevitability, keep making things more noob-friendly and try to expand the options available to classes - give limb classes a way to see limb damage done and limb damage healed, just like aff classes can track when venoms come off weapons/what effects are cured (discernment). Right now, combat is in some sort of weird state of flux - I can name 2 people who fight and use limb damage other than shatter instead of an aff-class, and frankly that speaks volumes in and of itself.

I would like to point out..as I have in other threads..

I automate Limb fighting. My Limb combat for Templar, Monk, AND Lycan, is all automated.

I get kills consistently. (It's not that friggin hard.)

Granted, I spent RL months getting a grasp of Limb combat to have it down pretty pat. I actually prefer Limb combat to venoms, because I don't have to keep 300 vials of curare on me at all times.
And no, I don't do any +1 +2 to attacks (except for Monk, since attacks are not consistent between punches and such which is super lame). Really, just takes some time analyzing the data and you get move ahead fine.

I will say that my Limb combat is about 3x more lines than my Retribution offense, but it works pretty well, and I coded in a beautiful parry predicter, which in turn made me code an AMAZING parry for myself for my non-citadel characters. Probably going to have it take over for Citadel in fact, just have to take the time to code in.

/derail

This survey is neat, I guess I completely glazed over its existence when it was posted, to which I r sad. I love graphs and Pie charts. Also Pie. More Pie.