Hi guys. Allow me to copy and paste something from another forum (http://forums.relicnews.com/showthread.php?t=123783) to explain a little bit about what is going on at Relic...:) Thanks!
This is a response to Moe's thread and I think it deserves it's own because I'd like to talk a little bit about what initiatives are going on at Relic behind the scenes.
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I've read each and every single post in Moe's thread so far and I wanted to say thank you for giving us your feedback -- whether it is positive or negative.
The first thing I want to mention is that it is true I'm not able to respond to every thread with a lot of information. I WILL let you know that I read almost every thread on the forums. When I find a bug report, I submit it. When there are balance issues, I forward it to the balance team. A lot of the time I will read a thread... find a problem (bug, issue, etc) and forward it to the appropriate team. I do not post back in that thread unless I hear back concrete information and if the producer has given his/her permission that I can post that. Sometimes it takes a while for us to respond to you because the issue has to be passed around a few people first (programmers, design, art, etc) before we can give a solid answer.
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That being said, Relic cares a lot about its community. I'm not just saying that. They recognized a problem and are trying to fix it. They hired a community manager (me), they are now inviting me to all important meetings so I can bring forward your suggestions, and they are listening to what I am suggesting. I spend about 70% of my day reading the forums and letting people in the company knowing about what the forums are saying. Even though I am the community manager, I am staffed on other Online projects right now, and my understanding is that my role here is to post news and announcements. I really am trying to think of new and creative ways to get the community involved and how to improve by being active in the community. Please take the time to e-mail me (ahenze@relic.com) (please don't PM!) with your concerns and suggestions. Those of you who know me in IRC and who have contacted me know I take your concerns seriously.
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I'd just like to take some time and let you know how Relic is trying to improve based on community feedback and let you know what is going on behind the scenes:
Please keep in mind that all of this is TENTATIVE and has not been confirmed. I'm just trying to give you an idea of what we're working on.
1. CoH Patches
As for patches, it's true we did announce the 1.3 patch early and the tentative changelog early. I know there was a big kafuffle about that and we're sorry for that. For the future, my understanding is that producers now want to post that information later to avoid any false information going out and because of the stir that was raised in the community. I think the general consensus around Relic is that we want to make sure we provide the community with the most accurate information possible.
Patch 1.4:
It's been in the works for some time now, and is still being worked on. It's going to fix the barbed wire/tank traps bug and is going to address some of the online issues you are experiencing. Yes, it's vague. I will release more information as we get closer to the date of release and after QA has gone through it.
Patch 1.5:
I asked you in this thread to give me your suggestions for the next patch.
I have compiled this list, gone over it with the balance team and the design team. All it requires now is a Producer's approval and many of your suggestions will get into the patch. If you don't believe me, here's how it exists on our internal wiki site ![]()
/confluence/display/COH/Community+Suggestions+for+1.5+Patch
What I am planning to do after more eyes have looked over and approved the list is basically post the list to the community explaining what we can and can't fix and why. Then I am going to ask people to contribute replays if they can to help us reproduce the bugs and help us get the patch out faster. I'm really trying to get you guys more involved if I can. I know you want to help and it benefits everyone. ![]()
2. DC Patch
Patch 1.1:
Localization and connectivity fixes only. We're waiting on a couple countries to get back to us but we're trying to push this out ASAP.
Patch 1.12:
Thank you for your contributions in this thread. Similar to the CoH patch, I've just finished compiling this list but haven't gone over it with design/balance yet. This patch has been in the works for a while but we're having trouble fixing a couple of the major bugs so it is taking some time. I'm really sorry for this but do know that we're making MAJOR inroads on some of the bugs we didn't think could be fixed and are working hard on it.
/confluence/display/Warhammer/Dark+Crusade+Patch+1.12
3. DC Community Content Maps
We have finally received all the legal documents from the winners of the map contest. These will be going into the rotation with the next major patch (1.12).
4. Modding Community
For those of you who don't already know, we have launched the Relic Mod Wiki. http://wiki.RelicRank.com/
We have also released the DC .luas earlier than we have ever in the past thanks to community feedback... and I have also passed on your concerns about the mod tools to the tools team who are now actively incorporating your suggestions.
We're hoping to keep this updated and we hope you contribute to the wiki as well!
5. Other games and the size of the company
It's certainly not an excuse to be resting on, but Relic is a small company and we are working on other games. If we didn't work on these games right away, you wouldn't get any new games for years and years. Unfortunately, this means that patch work has to be done alongside new game development. That being said we are really trying to get these patches out as fast as we can.
6. General Community Initiatives
You can find everything I have ever posted here .
What I'm planning for before the end of the year:
- Another podcast
- Another video interview
- Relic's Biggest Fan Contest... with a huge prize.
- Company of Heroes tournament
- Company of Heroes map contest
- Dark Crusade map contest
What I'm hoping to accomplish for the community in the future (ideas I have that haven't been approved):
- Community beta testing... a group of select members who would want to help out Relic for patch testing, testing new upcoming games, new projects, etc.
- Revamping the Relic patch process to include the community as well as speed it up
- Revamping the QA process (Sean Dunn has already been doing this over at THQ by trying to add headcount)
- Working out new and creative ways to get the international community content the same time as everyone else
- Community pulse... e-mails and posts I make to our internal forums about what's going on in the community for employees to read so we continue to stay in touch
7. What you can do
a) E-mail me with your concerns or suggestions... please don't PM (ahenze@relic.com).. do not use the forum mailer.
B) Post well-formatted constructive feedback. Believe it or not it's easier for me to understand this... and then point another employee at Relic to the thread. If posts aren't well-written sometimes it is easier to dismiss it as not legitimate.
c) Contribute to the wiki ... help us make this a success so other projects get added to this!
d) Participate in contests!
e) Continue posting your feedback, whether positive or negative it helps us ![]()
Thank you for reading this huge post.
Believe it or not I love this community and really do care about what happens with it. Many of the members in IRC know I toss and turn at night about what goes on in the forums, and that I am constantly trying to think of new ways to get everyone involved. Again, if you feel I'm not doing a good job and I could do better, please contact me.
Thanks again for your time,
Buggo