So it seems like Fatshark isn’t taking player concerns very seriously. They’ve made some minor concessions in regards to the cash shop, but haven’t committed to anything, using lots of wishy washy language, and saying that a lot of QoL improvements don’t mesh with their vision of the game and/or the lore. The thing that really got me thinking was Hedge’s response to the guy that asked for weapon customization. He condescendingly responded that Darktide wasn’t CoD and wasn’t designed to be CoD. In a vacuum, it seems like Hedge just putting his foot in his mouth again, but Call of Duty is one of the most successful video game franchises of all time. I know that a lot of people like to dump on CoD (I get it, I’m not a fan either), but weapon customization is pretty standard in a lot of video games these days. And you’d think being as successful as CoD would be something a developer would want. Between Hedge’s comment and the PC Gamer article where Fatshark dropping the “why are gamers mad, don’t they know we know what’s best for them?” type comments, it got me wondering… does Fatshark have a culture problem? It seems like they may have been sitting around huffing their own farts and getting high on the success of the Vermintide games. If they’ve gotten to the point that they think they’re above criticism, the players “don’t know what’s best for them”, and that everything they release is gold, it’s a bad, bad sign. The fact that they scrapped all of the QoL features that took the Vermintide games from good to great is concerning. Fatshark wouldn’t be the first developer to make a couple of bangers and then get a big head, only to crumble under the weight of their own ego. It definitely seems like their treading down this path and it has me genuinely concerned, because they clearly have the ability to make some real gems. I don’t want to see them fail. I want more Darktide! I want to fight orks, genestealer cults, whatever they come up with! Am I looking to deeply into this? I dunno. I hope Fatshark comes to their senses. I’m not suggesting they listen to every wild comment that comea across the table, but when a large portion of their playerbase is saying “hey, this is bad” maybe they need to start listening and engaging instead of the pat on the head and “we hear you, but…” we’re currently getting.

Any time a team talks about their “vision” for a game while ignoring player feedback, I know they don’t really care about what players want. Having a “vision” usually means “we’re going to make this game the way we want”–a rigid plan where player feedback will have little influence. The word vision, in the context of coming out of a PR team’s mouth, is a red flag to me. On the plus side I haven’t really heard this word from fatshark, so there may be hope.

Well, they have big shoes to fill considering VTs. I consider it a failure so far. I still hope I’m wrong.

I like coherency. It needs some tweaking all around but the concept isn’t worthless.

I don’t trust very much Hedge says anymore. He has been short and unprofessional too many times now. In any case, you think anyone from Fatshark would admit the issues happening now are caused by Tencent?

have to agree with you on coherency, in the other tide games staying together is the only way to win at higher difficulties. Its always painful to get that one dude who thinks he gonna speedrun the whole thing without their team. It’s a good thing coherency gets people to stay together! Except it doesn’t. I notice little to no difference between Darktide and Vermintide in terms of players running off. Coherency just makes it more obnoxious to play and for the people who are sticking together while indirectly punishing players who don’t cuddle close together even when that’s a bad idea/splitting up a bit would be the smarter play.

[image]Winds Of Magic Community Blogpost When it comes to how we asses all feedback and then push design changes forward, we don’t serve people based on what they want, we serve people based on what they need. Memento homine! I’ll leave this from an old topic ( Winds Of Magic Community Blogpost )

Wow… That post says it all. I tend to be forgiving of organizations, but unfortunately, I’m beginning to concur with the original OP. That blogpost is about as tone deaf as you can be. That is naive hubris. Again, it baffles my mind that they learned these lessons with previous titles, but then chose to ignore them.

[image] Zoralink: Except it doesn’t. I notice little to no difference between Darktide and Vermintide in terms of players running off. TBH I think that’s mostly the design of Grim/Scriptures and crafting mats counter balancing coherency. Most times I see people running off it appears to be to loot the area more thoroughly than some of their team mates may want to.

I’d say it does show that FS are, at their core, a jolly bunch of WH-nerds, and I mean that in both the good sense and the bad. They love the IP, the lore, the aesthetics, they have absolutely stunning visual artistry that definitely has the most “Warhammer-y” feel of any video game by large margin - but they also have the social skills of cellar-dwelling nerds that play with little plastic figurines.

You have the Witcher series where writers make jokes and talks down how bad the source material is in the writers room. I agree with everything you said, but this, this is absolutely true. I know you are not debating whether it’s true or not, but rather the fact that they are making jokes about it feeling superior. But holy is the source material crap.

Is Fatshark company culture the issue?

Warhammer 40,000: Darktide General Discussion

Simferius December 10, 2022, 9:20am 29

Memento homine!

I’ll leave this from an old topic ( Winds Of Magic Community Blogpost )

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Is Fatshark company culture the issue?

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