Why I Think DE is One of the Best Devs in the Game

[Justin_Case001]

This is something I've thought about for a long time, but I was prompted to write this after DE's recent decision to undo the 24.0.4 sky archwing changes.  I was horrified by the 24.0.4 change, and it ruined one of my favorite aspects of the game.  I was very vocal about that.  I'd like to say that I am absolutely thrilled by the reversion back to barrel roll town.  DE, you have my most sincere thanks.

It may seem strange that I would make such a big deal about such a seemingly small thing, but it really was, and is, important to me.  Was the 24.0.4 change game breaking?  No.  But doing loops, rolls, and flying upside down results in more smiles for me than just about anything else.  I enjoy just about every aspect of the game, but every time I roll the archwing en route to another objective, it never fails to make me grin ear to ear and go, "WHOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"  I was very upset to lose that, and I'm ecstatic to get it back.

This is a prime example of why I think Digital Extremes is one of the best developers in the game today, and has been for years.  There's lots of reasons why DE is very good at what they do: Warframe looks great, has great gameplay, has lots to do, and performs well.  Those are all really important things, of course.  But...there's a lot of places in the digital landscape where one can find those things, but not so many where you can find the kind of integrity of DE, and the respect and concern they have for their players.  There's a lot of reasons why I've spent more hours in WF than in my second and third most played games combined.  But there's something else--one thing in particular that I feel really sets DE apart: their commitment to listening to their players, and their willingness to admit a mistake and fix it.

As I'm sure many of you are aware, the majority of humans have a tendency towards what is colloquially known as the double-down effect.  When people are in the wrong, and are then challenged, most people will futilely defend their position, or "double down", rather than admit the mistake and fix it.  If someone is shown counter evidence to a false belief, it will often make them feel threatened and push them further towards that false belief.  If someone makes a mistake, then will often fabricate justifications for it and try to defend it rather than just admitting it was a mistake and rectifying it.  There is a strange asymmetry at play here, because people tend to instantly recognize that the double-down effect looks foolish when others do it, yet when it is them in the spotlight, people think they are saving face by doing it.  The double-down effect is something that we would be wise to outgrow.

This can be readily seen in game development.  The vast majority of the time, if a developer makes a change, they will feel strongly compelled to stick to it, to stand by it, no matter how poor the reception or how hated the change may be.  No matter what the change is, most devs seem to feel that it's necessary to keep it, to defend it to the grave.  It would seem that they think that backtracking is some sign of weakness, or of failure.  Perhaps they fear that if they admit that something they did was a mistake, then players would lose confidence in them, and their enterprise would come crashing down.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  But most devs just don't get it.  They'll make a change, and no matter how much players hate it, their position is: "Well, what's done is done.  We can't go back on it now.  We did it; gotta keep it.  Gotta push forward.  If the players don't like it, tough."

DE is different.  They actually listen to their players, and if a decision is universally hated enough, they'll reverse it.  And they're quick to do so.  They obviously don't have some bogus, misplaced concern about face-saving, some desire to justify a mistake.  No--if it was a mistake, then they'll just undo it, or do something else entirely that works better.

Now, I'm certainly not saying that they simply do anything and everything that players ask.  They're wise enough not to.  No dev could or should do that.  If they did, we wouldn't have a game, because everyone would just say, "give us everything right now!"  They have to maintain a balance, and sometime they have to make and enforce an unpopular decision to do so.  But if something isn't a balancing issue, and is widely disliked, such as the archwing thing, they'll listen and undo it.

Also, sometimes an unpopular decision is made for a greater good.  I think DE is very good about knowing what we will like long before we do.  Example: do you remember this?

Spoiler

I do.  When DE first introduce the Liset, many were against it.  I'll freely admit that I was one of of the stubborn, shortsighted people whining about the "original star chat master race".  What a fool.  Could you even imagine WF without your ship?  I couldn't imagine playing WF without my orbiter, my decorations, and my cute little puppy sleeping on her bed in my quarters.  DE had to ignore a few of us when implementing the ship UI because they knew it would be for the best in the long run.  They knew we'd love it, even though many would be resistant to change.  They know what will be good for us in the long term even if the initial taste is bad.  DE is good about knowing when we need to take our medicine.

But the point is that when they actually screw up, they own it and fix it.  Many of you might not be old enough players to remember the Great Stamina Crisis of U10.  (I think it was 10)  In fact, many of you are like, "Stamina?  What's that?"  Yeah, exactly.  WF used to have a green stamina bar on your HUD, which would deplete as you sprinted and did parkour.  When it ran out, you were restricted to a jog until it refilled.  Sounds horrible, right?  Well, truthfully, it wasn't all that bad because it refilled very quickly with no delay, and it regenerated as you did a knee slide.  As we all know, we all slide constantly because it kinda shoots you forward a bit, and then of course you go from than into a bullet jump.  Back then, we would still alternate sliding and sprinting, and the stamina would recover every time you slide, so the fact was that you didn't really run out of stamina that often.  In fact, we hardly noticed it was there, and that's what prompted DE to make a change.  They decided that stamina should be more of a thing, something that you notice and pay attention to (more like Skyrim or something, I guess.)  So, in U10, they changed stamina to drain faster, I believe, and to have a few second delay before recharging.  They were hoping it would make for more interesting and strategic gameplay.  Instead, it ripped the very soul out of WF and ground it into pathetic little pieces.  The game just ground to halt.  It felt like we were wearing the Iron Boots from Zelda: Ocarina of Time.  You just couldn't move.  The game was dead.  The result was a forum sh*tstorm like nothing the internet has ever seen.  So what did DE do?  Mere hours after the change went live, they basically said (paraphrasing) "Okay.  Point taken.  We get it.  We didn't realize it was going to be like this.  You're right.  This sucks.  We're sorry.  We'll fix it."  And then what did they do?  They eliminated stamina from the game altogether.  Stamina did need a change--they were right about that.  They tried bringing it front and center, but that bombed out big time.  Instead, they got rid of it, changed the stamina mods into things like Maglev, and the game was never better.  Most other devs?  We probably would have been stuck with the Iron Boots forever.

Most people seem to think that standing by a blunder like that is some kind of virtue, but they can't seem to figure out that the double-down effect just makes you look like an a**hole.  And if you're in the game development business, it make people hate you.  But actually listening to your players?  Actually caring whether they have fun or not?  Rolling back mistakes?  Having a commitment to being wrong for as little time as possible?  That....   that makes people love you.  That's why my friend has purchased $150 worth of platinum he didn't really have a use for (he'd already farmed everything in-game) --not so much because of what DE does, but because of how they do it; because he wanted to let them know they're appreciated.  I've bought a little plat as well, but not nearly that much.  I'd like to, but I'm not in a financial position to be able to spend a lot.

I apologize if this wasn't the right sub forum for this post.  I was cogitating between General and Fan Zone.  If this belongs in Fan Zone or somewhere else, then by all means, move it, DE.  I realize that this post isn't really a discussion topic, per se.  I apologize for that, too.  It's just something that I really wanted to express, and I wanted to make sure it was visible.  DE, thanks again for giving me my barrel rolls and smiles back, and thanks again for everything that you do.  It's greatly appreciated.  In fact, to further show my appreciation, I might just purchase a little more platinum.  (But I hope you'll understand if I wait for a coupon from login... ? )

Edited November 19, 2018 by Justin_Case001
Edited for typo

[Alcatraz]

I read a good deal of your post, and I give you a thumbs up. I read your last bit about sub forum and such and... feedback is what this is actually. Otherwise there's no problem with where you placed it. Also I do remember that UI pretty well. I liked how it was all right there, and far easier to get to than what it is now.

I still feel it was made more console friendly since you'd be able to bring up the menu and just select through what you wanted. Too many menus to be honest. Was greater just to click an icon with a name under it, with everything just right there for each, instead of pressing esc and having to remember where certain things were. Though you have the option to at least walk to where it's stationed at, so there's that.

I have some really old screenshots of my time back in early open beta, nothing closed beta since you weren't allowed to screenshot.

[Justin_Case001]

22 hours ago, Alcatraz said:

I have some really old screenshots of my time back in early open beta, nothing closed beta since you weren't allowed to screenshot. 

Yup.  Wacky old stuff.  Remember "Stay close to the walls?"  Oh, and let's not forget "I'm detecting a large security force heading your way.  It's the Grineer!"  I think it would be so much fun if there was a way we could go back and play WF 1.0 for a day as a blast from the past.  It's come a long way.

[Gullim92]

Most of the backlash for the ship was actually directed to the star chart 2.0, not the ship itself. And in retrospect, while the aesthetic of the starchart 2.0 was pretty sick, it wasn't nearly as functional as what we have now.

Anyways, couldn't agree more with what you're saying. DE are more involved with their community than any other developer I've seen in all my years, they've always been open to communicate with the playerbase and I absolutely love that about them. When the community speaks out against something, they don't give you the "we're listening to your feedback" line that every other developer throws around these days, they get right in the thick of it, and more often than not, changes are implemented by the next hotfix a few days later.

[Legion-Shields]

I think DE are the only devs in the game.

[stormy505]

Well... Yea... They're the only devs in the game.

 

I'll see myself out now

Edited November 19, 2018 by stormy505

[xcenic]

Because all the fortuna content have a map based on the day and can I use mirage to destroy everything stupidly from just one hit?

Mirage prime + "insert any weapon"=Opticor 650k damage per shot

Edited November 19, 2018 by xcenic