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Old 01-11-2016, 06:39 PM   #1
brent_dog
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Signs of Life

I'm going to start this thread by saying I'm an avid fan of FHM2, having played it extensively in single-player and also putting in many hours online as part of a vibrant, thriving multiplayer league. I will defend it to the hilt against the naysayers who can't see past the issues that the first iteration of the game had and sincerely hope the franchise goes from strength to strength.

But with that said, I think someone on the forum has to be bold enough to ask a direct question about where the contact from the Devs has gone.

At the moment the only people answering questions for newbies on the forums are fans of the game. In a way that's great, because it shows how motivated and committed those of us that love FHM2 are to ensuring it's success now and in the future. But at the same time it's also a bad thing because it shouldn't be falling on all of us to do that.

Of course we understand there's been the festive period which naturally put a hiatus on things. However, most of us returned to work a week ago and in that time we've heard next to nothing on these forums.

I'm not expecting you as the developers to suddenly leap up and say that all the little bugs and issues that have cropped up of late, such as the ASG Crash, are going to be fixed tomorrow; that wouldn't be realistic or fair. Besides, FHM2 is such a quantum leap forwards over FHM1 that I'm happy enough to put up with some of the niggles because it does so many other things so well. At the end of the day, we can all appreciate that real life takes priority. Sure, we're fans and gamers, but first and foremost we're human beings who understand that things aren't always plain sailing. We understand that bugs can take longer to fix than anticipated, that workers and their families need to go on holiday, that employees get sick or move on to pastures new, that companies can restructure behind the scenes in order to improve things etc.

But as paying customers what we can't understand, and shouldn't have to accept, is feeling like we're being kept in the dark about things.

So please, just give us some signs of life and let us know what's going on at the moment
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Old 01-11-2016, 06:51 PM   #2
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Totally understand your frustration as it has been quite a few weeks since there has been an update. Two reasons I can think of are certainly the festive period/holidays but also the team are now in a transition period now that Cole has stepped down and his successor will only just be getting up to speed. I have criticised the dev team quite heavily in the past for poor communication in the past with the first version of FHM. With FHM2 there has been a clear improvement and I am quite sure that they are working away in the background fixing bugs and adding/planning new features. Give them a bit of space and they will post when they have an update to announce.

In answer to another post about looking for some new features as well as having bug fixes in the next patch. I was thinking it would probably be best to use the next couple of updates to address the bugs that are present in the game at the moment and getting some stability in the builds before adding anything new. Just my opinion.
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Old 01-11-2016, 07:19 PM   #3
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I am quite sure that they are working away in the background fixing bugs and adding/planning new features.
I think the key word there is 'background'. If there is work going on, I don't expect it to be thrust into the foreground before it's ready, but some word on progress would be appreciated.

Anyway, I completely understand the points you raise and I'd like to say I'm certainly not expecting a patch to drop anytime soon. In fact, that's not my issue as I understand bugs take time to fix. It's just the lack of communication at present. I know Cole posted a lot on the forums in a PR / Community capacity and his successor, KnightAttack, has just taken over. Even in that short amount of time he's already doing a lot of good work on twitter and facebook from what I can see.

But at the end of the day Cole didn't answer the General Questions thread or Bugs Forum and word has completely dried up on there as well.

Last edited by brent_dog; 01-11-2016 at 07:24 PM.
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Old 01-11-2016, 07:36 PM   #4
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Yeah I'm with you. In the beginning there was plenty of answers and communication all throughout the boards from the developers about any number of issues.

I have no clue what happened between then and now, it almost feels like the game has been abandoned at this point. I know JeffR was on vacation and there was the holiday season in there, but even then you'd think somebody would come on here and at least give a quick update on where things stand.
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Old 01-11-2016, 08:34 PM   #5
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Yeah I'm with you. In the beginning there was plenty of answers and communication all throughout the boards from the developers about any number of issues.

I have no clue what happened between then and now, it almost feels like the game has been abandoned at this point. I know JeffR was on vacation and there was the holiday season in there, but even then you'd think somebody would come on here and at least give a quick update on where things stand.
Well, I certainly hope not. I'm part of the "thriving and vibrant" online league brent mentioned above, and I'd hate to see the game die. Can't imagine what I'd do with all the extra time in my day if it wasn't spent trying to figure out how to improve my team, prepare for the draft or constantly change my team tactics! Not to mention my wife and kids have probably forgotten what I look like.......

I've supported OOTP for over a decade, so at this point I guess I will just have to force myself to be patient and assume these things will all work themselves out.
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Old 01-12-2016, 12:17 AM   #6
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I'm guessing Cole leaving for greener pastures has had an impact... that guy worked miracles rehabbing this games community.


Jeff disappearing is weird, but who knows what's going on behind the scenes.


I *HOPE* they don't imagine that they can abandon support already for this years version... there are a ton of bugs that have creeped up, and many basic features that are still in VERY rough shape (expansion for instance is incredibly limited and unrealistic in it's current form)... they made a big deal about how they would support and develop the game this year. They have won us back, but they need to keep up the good work to maintain the good will after the utter disaster of the last version...
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Old 01-12-2016, 11:20 AM   #7
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posted twice....my mouse is broken and I'm using the touchpad on my laptop (hate that!!!!)
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Old 01-12-2016, 11:23 AM   #8
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I *HOPE* they don't imagine that they can abandon support already for this years version...
I think you are jumping the gun a bit there. Nobody has mentioned abandoning support for this version. This version is only a few months old and I'm pretty sure there will be features added and continued work on fixing the bugs.

I am also quite sure it won't be very long before you see an update.
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Old 01-12-2016, 05:10 PM   #9
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Things have been a bit slow lately, but we researchers are still working on database updates and we're still getting new test-builds regularly, so it's definitely not abandoned. Despite all that, I agree that the forum seems often way too silent.
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Old 01-14-2016, 01:00 AM   #10
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Things have been a bit slow lately, but we researchers are still working on database updates and we're still getting new test-builds regularly, so it's definitely not abandoned. Despite all that, I agree that the forum seems often way too silent.
As I stated in another thread (but will restate here), we've just been busy. Part of the problem it seems is me not being here, so I will work to rectify that situation as quickly as I can.
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Old 01-14-2016, 03:04 PM   #11
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Yeah, I get it. I'm one of the researchers, so I'm not left completely in the dark. It's just that the FHM community hasn't grown that large yet, so we should cherish those who are with us at the moment. And there's been more complaints than content lately, really. I've read that communication had been an issue before, so it's good that you're here and ready now.
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Old 01-14-2016, 07:18 PM   #12
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we can't forget how far this game has come since FHM1 or even the initial release of FHM2. The devs have worked endless days for a long time based on the results I see. I don't know if any of the devs took a short vacation but I hope they did as they deserved it over the holidays. Testers are still seeing updates, but it can't be rushed.
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Old 01-14-2016, 08:38 PM   #13
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we can't forget how far this game has come since FHM1 or even the initial release of FHM2. The devs have worked endless days for a long time based on the results I see. I don't know if any of the devs took a short vacation but I hope they did as they deserved it over the holidays. Testers are still seeing updates, but it can't be rushed.
It has come a long way, but any goodwill that was built up has been eroding rapidly. The only activity on this forum lately is people begging for an update, to no avail. Too busy to update doesn't cut it. They weren't too busy to come push the Steam winter sale.
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Old 01-14-2016, 08:59 PM   #14
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It has come a long way, but any goodwill that was built up has been eroding rapidly. The only activity on this forum lately is people begging for an update, to no avail. Too busy to update doesn't cut it. They weren't too busy to come push the Steam winter sale.
An update is being worked on as we speak.

But as stated earlier, and in multiple threads, part of what has happened has been a change of who's doing what with the company. I am now here as your new Community Manager and am promising I will be as clear as I can.

It's easy to see where the frustration is coming from and for my part, I will do what I can to help ease though concerns. Please understand, this is a huge responsibility for everyone and even now, there is still a lot to learn. When I speak with Jeff, I will make sure he hears the concern, but with only a small team working on the game, some of these things take time.

We can't guarantee comments on everything, but I guarantee you this: We are listening.
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Old 01-15-2016, 06:11 PM   #15
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'Eroding goodwill' don't think so. There is a strong community here and yes the communication has been poor for all of 7/8 weeks it's hardly a catastrophe. There have been reasons that have been well stated by Adam. An update is being tested. Really don't see what all the fuss is about. I waited for 9 months for an update from Wolverine Studios about Draft Day Sports Pro Basketball 4. I'm sure normal OOTP service will resume again shortly.
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Old 01-15-2016, 10:47 PM   #16
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'Eroding goodwill' don't think so. There is a strong community here and yes the communication has been poor for all of 7/8 weeks it's hardly a catastrophe. There have been reasons that have been well stated by Adam. An update is being tested. Really don't see what all the fuss is about. I waited for 9 months for an update from Wolverine Studios about Draft Day Sports Pro Basketball 4. I'm sure normal OOTP service will resume again shortly.

The "fuss" as you say, is not necessarily just that we are expecting or demanding an update right now. It's the fact that as you said yourself, "communication has been poor". People were posting and wondering what was going on for weeks, a simple explanation that you just gave, "an update is being tested and will be ready as soon as we can", would have gone a long way to calming people down instead of letting the frustration grow to this point.
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Old 01-16-2016, 12:10 AM   #17
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An update is being worked on as we speak.

But as stated earlier, and in multiple threads, part of what has happened has been a change of who's doing what with the company. I am now here as your new Community Manager and am promising I will be as clear as I can.

It's easy to see where the frustration is coming from and for my part, I will do what I can to help ease though concerns. Please understand, this is a huge responsibility for everyone and even now, there is still a lot to learn. When I speak with Jeff, I will make sure he hears the concern, but with only a small team working on the game, some of these things take time.

We can't guarantee comments on everything, but I guarantee you this: We are listening.
Great to here!
I guess I will say welcome to the community!
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Old 01-16-2016, 05:43 AM   #18
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The "fuss" as you say, is not necessarily just that we are expecting or demanding an update right now. It's the fact that as you said yourself, "communication has been poor". People were posting and wondering what was going on for weeks, a simple explanation that you just gave, "an update is being tested and will be ready as soon as we can", would have gone a long way to calming people down instead of letting the frustration grow to this point.
I already posted about the update in another thread as did Spirits I believe. It's pretty crap that we were the ones posting about it. As I said not having a post on a forum for a matter of weeks isn't a big deal. They explained the reasons for the lack of updates its time to accept the reasons and move on not keep regurgitating the same issue. The game was released 28th September 2015. We have had 4 updates plus hotfixes so far. That is far and beyond what most games companies do within 4 months of release so I don't really think we have much to complain about.
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Old 01-16-2016, 08:49 AM   #19
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As I said not having a post on a forum for a matter of weeks isn't a big deal.[/B]
Have to disagree with you there. For it to go from the General Questions thread being answered pretty much every day to no contact whatsoever... well, that's a pretty big sea change and something that was worthy of asking a question about.

Anyway, the worry shouldn't be those of us who care enough to voice our concern. It's those players who have potentially disappeared without saying a word and might not come back again.
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Old 01-16-2016, 09:28 AM   #20
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Anyway, the worry shouldn't be those of us who care enough to voice our concern. It's those players who have potentially disappeared without saying a word and might not come back again.
Maybe they are just playing the game.
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