Feedback about the Base game and DLC drama.(Steam Report)
Hello Keen!
First of all, i love the concept of the game, i truly believe it is unique and has the potential to become something truly amazing with proper managemant and care. I had fun playing with(1.4k+ hours) However, there are problems, which i would like to Address here, since I'm unsure about that the concerns of players on steam forums are being listened to, even you have a moderator there active and he supposed to report you back monthly(later i will elaborate). A lot of feedback going on there on the latest threads. Many are vulgar, but the message is clear.
This feedback is based upon my observations of the steam forums, i made a reading through the threads and also contains my personal opinion added in the end.
Sure, you heard that apart from a group of people, many don't like your current approach to the content added to the game as DLCs. These KSH customers split into several groups:
- No payed DLC, no further explanations apart of insults and cursing from many(not all).
- No payed DLC, those should be free and quality content as a free update to the base game and revenue should be generated only with selling the base game. With good content, more people getting into SE, like many other game does.
- Don't want to Pay for DLC, which lacks of meaningful content (gameplay expansion), but forked workshop creations and cosmetics only. Many pointed out, that certain content of DLCs are avaible for free on the workshop. Many customers think it's also unethical to ask money for it.
- Too much dlc, no further explanations or too much payed DLC on the store page will keep new players away from game.
- Willing to pay for DLC if the documented thousands of bugs are eliminated, especially the ones related to the main game engineering features. This group of KSH customers are not given details on the value of DLC content. Yet, they are not purchasing anything until main game issues are solved.(bug tracker list reference and poor single and multiplayer performance)
- Willing to pay for DLC, even more money if DLC content is quality, meaningful gameplay expansions on the base game, which are expanding the functionality of the game.
- Fed up with SE, having experiences with MW and ME.
Also there are peope, smaller groups according to my observations, who are:
- Welcomes the DLC, regardless of content.
- Welcomes the DLC, but wishes for more content.
These are my observations, which you easily can verify, just head to the SE steam forums and see it for yourself. You maybe find more cases, but i did my best with a quick readtrough of thousands of comments.
My personal opinion starts here, which also shared by with many other KSH paying customers according to the forum threads comments.
The game itself would be fun, good idea, but there are many issues:
- Game itself is in early access stage, suffering serious issues and a lot of bugs which are existing within the game for very long time. Base game lacks of meaningful features, gameplay elements. Unpolished, unfinished, unbalanced, yet pushed out of early access stage and payed dlcs are coming frequently to the top. I would like to here give you an example, how it looks like:
I am managing my own small business for living and serving my customers with my own work. That is my bread and butter.
However, i could find myself very quickly out of business if i ask my customers funding(early access) and in return my work is declared ready, but in reality unfinished and faulty, same time offering them to buy extras...
In this case i face reputation loss(valid concern for KSH, not just in gaming sector), legal actions against me, possibly refunds. Also for sure my customers would ask me to finish my job.
Then i answer: all right, i will do something about it, not promising a full work, but just parts of it(multiplayer), meanwhile in the same conversation advertising them a paid extra. This is just not a pretty picture and as a small business owner, morally i just cannot accept it at all. Because that is what we looking at. Sounds harsh, but true. Personally i want the game to be finished, polished, packed with good features, then and only then i willing to buy dlc(i bought the previous ones). I'm not even double clicking the SE icon on my desktop until that. I been waiting enough in my opinion.
The another thing i like to talk about is Public relations with your customers. Very bad idea to push out teasers, when your community is frustrated, angry, disappointed, raging. All of it because an unfinished product. Please try to listen to them, communicate with them directly on every forum where KSH is present at the moment. Yes, you will face some unpleasent questions and comments and not just your fans undiveded love for you no matter what. Answer their questions. Direct developer communication, contant is the best coarse of action.
Which leads me to the last thing i want to talk about. I am trying to be very careful here, but i have to bring the subject here. I just leave here a dropbox link with some screenshots.
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/8q4u9a6f53ffuqr/AADSzdSYUntg22zcuqHkuHEca?dl=0
I think i don't need to repeat myself, everything is written on the comments. I am questioning the the credibility of the work he is doing as a PR Staff, moderator. This is one of the very reason why i submit that report above and not just my own personal feedback. I'm not sure, if he does objectively what he supposed to. I am not questioning his help of players with other issues. I think he does that best as he can. However. Those posts are worrying me. His writing indicates, that he is not objective in his monthly reports. When i asked him about it, just replying with prefab messages and empty statements without proper communication. I am deeply disappointed. Does the community being really listend to, who prefers to voice their opinions on the steam forums?
Thank you for your attention, wish KSH to overcome this crisis and i wish that one day i will be happily play SE again and buying DLCs with a good feeling.
P.s. I am asking the KSH employee to comment under the feedback. Nothing special, just that you read it.
Thank you so much.
Edit: i attach an another screenshot as an example of the case. In my opinion, this is just unacceptable PR!!!
I like this feedback 
Just came on my mind:What is this Clang Cola and Clang safe zone texture? Clang should be eliminated, fixed, dismissed and burried it's existence deep in the past. Not advertising the own fault of your game with it as a cool thing. Making it a cool marketing title, like a completely normal and acceptable phenomenon, which belongs to the product. Am i the only one who thinks it is upside down?
Just came on my mind:What is this Clang Cola and Clang safe zone texture? Clang should be eliminated, fixed, dismissed and burried it's existence deep in the past. Not advertising the own fault of your game with it as a cool thing. Making it a cool marketing title, like a completely normal and acceptable phenomenon, which belongs to the product. Am i the only one who thinks it is upside down?
Your thoughts echo what an awful lot of veterans are saying - The DLC is unreasonable given how broken and empty the game is. Not to mention the damage the PR is doing.
I shall not touch upon the issue with that moderator other than he is most definitely not right for that role and has incredibly biased behaviour.
Your thoughts echo what an awful lot of veterans are saying - The DLC is unreasonable given how broken and empty the game is. Not to mention the damage the PR is doing.
I shall not touch upon the issue with that moderator other than he is most definitely not right for that role and has incredibly biased behaviour.
So many bugs are fixed. THX Space Engineers Team, for keep updating . ^^
I love your DLC politics!! But I buy it later, sorry.
I think, the players think, the Game is bugy because the don't understand, why the machines don't work.
Mostly you are the problem, not the Game. XD
So many bugs are fixed. THX Space Engineers Team, for keep updating . ^^
I love your DLC politics!! But I buy it later, sorry.
I think, the players think, the Game is bugy because the don't understand, why the machines don't work.
Mostly you are the problem, not the Game. XD
Keen, you pushing ppl at the steam forums to come here and give a feedback. Here i am, yet, you couldn't even bother to have a prefab reply(hello Engineer, thanks for the....), let alone having an actual person to talk to? Really? It's been over three days? Is that how you value your paying customers?
Keen, you pushing ppl at the steam forums to come here and give a feedback. Here i am, yet, you couldn't even bother to have a prefab reply(hello Engineer, thanks for the....), let alone having an actual person to talk to? Really? It's been over three days? Is that how you value your paying customers?
Greetings!
First, thank you for leaving us some feedback! We are always looking for ways to improve and your feedback can help us do that.
Hopefully, this can address as many of your questions as possible, succinctly.
As we have done for the lifetime of Space Engineers, we will continue to develop and improve on Space Engineers.
Moderation Staff.
Thank you for your feedback and happy engineering!
Greetings!
First, thank you for leaving us some feedback! We are always looking for ways to improve and your feedback can help us do that.
Hopefully, this can address as many of your questions as possible, succinctly.
As we have done for the lifetime of Space Engineers, we will continue to develop and improve on Space Engineers.
Moderation Staff.
Thank you for your feedback and happy engineering!
This is a perfect summary of many of my issues with the game as well, along with the new pictures of their office remodels which demonstrate that the funding of DLC is definitely not going into the game. I'm in the "Would pay if the base game was completed" camp, as I was one of the few who bought the Ghost skin way back, even though it was a lie back then that they would never monetize suit designs, because I had good faith in the one off statement and wanted to support them. Now, years later, the base game is glitchy as heck, dlc block sets are more complete than base (looking at conveyors, catwalks/rigging, and anything to do with furniture), and gameplay is simply not present without creating it yourself.
This is a perfect summary of many of my issues with the game as well, along with the new pictures of their office remodels which demonstrate that the funding of DLC is definitely not going into the game. I'm in the "Would pay if the base game was completed" camp, as I was one of the few who bought the Ghost skin way back, even though it was a lie back then that they would never monetize suit designs, because I had good faith in the one off statement and wanted to support them. Now, years later, the base game is glitchy as heck, dlc block sets are more complete than base (looking at conveyors, catwalks/rigging, and anything to do with furniture), and gameplay is simply not present without creating it yourself.
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