Updates from the News Frontier - August 6th 2020

Welcome to this week's News Frontier!

Last week was a busy week! The State of the Nation post was released AND we had our first ever Twitch Stream, debuting The Navigators Revenge dungeon along with Blackbeard Eddie and the Sentinel Skeleton Pirate.

The recorded video of The Navigators Revenge stream is available on YouTube below!

The Navigators Revenge Reveal Stream

We appreciate everyone being there, it was a lot of fun and we fully intend on bringing more streams to you for New Dungeons, Characters and features. This might branch further out into other forms of Live Stream, but that is something we plan on discussing as a studio!

Server Restarts

I don't have too much to share on this topic, as soon we have news it will be shared! I can say that the team and I have seen your feedback regarding this subject and they are working towards changes that will stabilize restarts.

It's a light week in terms of news, always hard to follow up the State of the Nation post! Stay tuned and we will see you next week!

Signing off

^ Ceeg

Here's a bunch of nothing in accordance with our trend of empty words and promises.

Also did anyone actually get anything of worth from that stream? No tough questions were answered or addressed and it just showed a dungeon we'd be getting in a few hours.

Steam spent WAY too much time on character abilities and powering them up to be a useful stream. If the dungeon was the focus then.. it should be the focus... describing ENEMY abilities with tips on specific battles. To be honest.. I jumped ahead.. then ahead.. then WAY ahead.... and watched part of the first battle.. way too slow manual play and no real useful information. People don't HAVE Blackbeard yet, for the most part. So, using him in that dungeon is NOT helpful.

I realize it's a first.. so it may take a few to get in a groove. So not complaining, merely trying to add some constructive criticism.

Just showing the dungeon without going into detail about any aspect was pretty annoying. If you aren't actually going to delve into detail or engage in worthwhile conversation with the audience one of their highlight videos would have been just as much use.

Some other constructive criticism: don't delete chat and mute people who bring up the fact that tickets still take weeks. Fix the issue, don't just try to sweep it under the rug. Sure, delete messages that are rude or disrespectful, but that doesn't include simple mentions of huge issues with the game and its staff.

This wasn't a stream to address community concerns, it was to highlight an upcoming dungeon and some characters. Generate a bit of hype. It wasn't planned to give specific details on how to beat fights. We have discussed streams where we will take community questions on topics that come up, but this was not the stream for that so questions that concerned it were skipped for the most part. Thanks for the feedback, Yup.

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Originally Posted by Ceeg_LOTB

This wasn't a stream to address community concerns, it was to highlight an upcoming dungeon and some characters. Generate a bit of hype. It wasn't planned to give specific details on how to beat fights. We have discussed streams where we will take community questions on topics that come up, but this was not the stream for that so questions that concerned it were skipped for the most part. Thanks for the feedback, Yup.

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You say skipped, but multiple users were muted and their critical comments were deleted. It's fine to not address them (which the team constantly do) but actively silencing those who bring up valid concerns is a nasty habit.

The problem is our concerns are very rarely addressed and never in a timely manner. If you don't want users to bring it up on your stream, where are we supposed to bring it up?

I’m just going to play devils advocate here, I’m sure the devs are aware of the bug and ticket issues. Perhaps 100s of messages but it’s the same issue, f.ex. Bug with X character. The silence probably is due to not having an answer/timeline for fixing from debugging to coding. But we do see frequent maintenance with tuning fixes.

My point is just play Powerslave or whatever cd of theirs you wish, feel the power from the audio as your mesmerized by the cover art. It will be impossible to be stressed out over the app as your possessed to head bang and play air guitar.

I enjoyed the Twitch livestream. I wasn’t expecting much, and it delivered. Was fun to see the preview.

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Originally Posted by Nifelheim

I’m just going to play devils advocate here, I’m sure the devs are aware of the bug and ticket issues. Perhaps 100s of messages but it’s the same issue, f.ex. Bug with X character. The silence probably is due to not having an answer/timeline for fixing from debugging to coding. But we do see frequent maintenance with tuning fixes.

My point is just play Powerslave or whatever cd of theirs you wish, feel the power from the audio as your mesmerized by the cover art. It will be impossible to be stressed out over the app as your possessed to head bang and play air guitar.

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They're definitely aware but they've done jack all to rectify or pacify.

And I just can't listen to Iron Maiden without realizing how amazing this game could be with a team that was actually decent at managing an app. Fix the management issues and this game could be stellar and not have a community filled with bad blood and veteran players dropping out as they realize the game just isn't as good as it should be.

I wouldn't say the community is "filled" with bad blood... people, in general, RARELY post "everything is great!" on the internet. So, negative comments will ALWAYS outweigh positive ones anywhere about anything. If things bother you that much, perhaps you're a bit too attached to some silly little app?

I've considered dropping out and I do play much less these days.. but that's more due to lack of anything new, not any issues or bugs.. in fact I think in a year I've only filed one ticket. And I don't believe I've EVER filed more than one ticket that wasn't directly related to a purchase issue. If you're filing a ticket a month or more often and they AREN'T related to purchases....... I think you may need to reset your overall expectations. I know they set up "events" to seem like a job... but it's just some silly little mobile app designed to take your money... not be your life's blood.

The streaming went actually better than we expected, good for that. Also, it got the community talking the whole previous week about that, so nice well done!

About the topics and timing, my 2 cents... a sneak peek about the dungeon just a few hours previous their release is not super useful, and it doesn't create any hype because you are gonna release the dungeon minutes after that... Maybe one day before? Dunno. Also related, pls keep in mind different time zones for streaming, for Europe the streaming was maybe a bit late, and the dungeon release is at midnight, so it almost loses the whole purpose of streaming... I mean, why I'd bother to wait for the streaming if next day I'll have the dungeon right away to play?

Again, just feedback, any word from the team in any media is welcome, even more, new and better ways of communication. This one ended up being fun to watch live with the community. Thanks guys.

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Originally Posted by Maiden

The streaming went actually better than we expected, good for that. Also, it got the community talking the whole previous week about that, so nice well done!

About the topics and timing, my 2 cents... a sneak peek about the dungeon just a few hours previous their release is not super useful, and it doesn't create any hype because you are gonna release the dungeon minutes after that... Maybe one day before? Dunno. Also related, pls keep in mind different time zones for streaming, for Europe the streaming was maybe a bit late, and the dungeon release is at midnight, so it almost loses the whole purpose of streaming... I mean, why I'd bother to wait for the streaming if next day I'll have the dungeon right away to play?

Again, just feedback, any word from the team in any media is welcome, even more, new and better ways of communication. This one ended up being fun to watch live with the community. Thanks guys.

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I definitely considered the timezone issue, I just couldn't fit the stream in that would have worked for as many countries as possible. Next time, it will definitely be in a better time slot (like 10am PST?) and I can maybe set up for the day before the Dungeon is to be released. Appreciate the feedback!

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Originally Posted by Yup

I wouldn't say the community is "filled" with bad blood... people, in general, RARELY post "everything is great!" on the internet. So, negative comments will ALWAYS outweigh positive ones anywhere about anything. If things bother you that much, perhaps you're a bit too attached to some silly little app?

I've considered dropping out and I do play much less these days.. but that's more due to lack of anything new, not any issues or bugs.. in fact I think in a year I've only filed one ticket. And I don't believe I've EVER filed more than one ticket that wasn't directly related to a purchase issue. If you're filing a ticket a month or more often and they AREN'T related to purchases....... I think you may need to reset your overall expectations. I know they set up "events" to seem like a job... but it's just some silly little mobile app designed to take your money... not be your life's blood.

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The bad blood is mostly in Facebook groups and discord servers so it's easy to miss and avoid (fun fact Joms is considered a joke in quite a few of them especially after the gold issue).

My expectation is that things work as advertised. All of my tickets (aside from the colour blind issues) is when things don't work properly or I don't get my rewards from a facet of the game which is usually raids and gauntlet.

You seem to think I'm too invested or obsessed with this game which is not the case. Instead I'm just not being passive when things don't work I report it and move on.

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Originally Posted by Ceeg_LOTB

I definitely considered the timezone issue, I just couldn't fit the stream in that would have worked for as many countries as possible. Next time, it will definitely be in a better time slot (like 10am PST?) and I can maybe set up for the day before the Dungeon is to be released. Appreciate the feedback!

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One day before at least would be awesome, so if you can't watch it live is still interesting see it later and with that, you also solve the timezones situation.

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Originally Posted by MuzakMaker

... random stuff...

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You simply come across as a very angry, sad, individual. You appear to not be able to have a decent conversation without insults and jabs. I hope things improve for you and you manage to get a handle on whatever it is making you so unpleasant.

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Originally Posted by Yup

You simply come across as a very angry, sad, individual. You appear to not be able to have a decent conversation without insults and jabs. I hope things improve for you and you manage to get a handle on whatever it is making you so unpleasant.

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Edit: in hopeful attempt to bring this back to peaceful discussion. If you were insulted I do honestly apologize as that was not my intention and my attempt at a light tone I failed to convey it and reading it back as you did I can see where I went wrong. I did honestly think you would find it funny that a lot of players who got so invested they would fight each other would latch on to a clan that was proud to state their clan on the forums.

I fill out bug reports both to get any resources and to better the app. When I encounter a bug my ticket isn't just "it's broken" but it includes what I experienced (bug), what I expected (intended behavior) and either steps to replicate or if I was unable to replicate either because of lack of materials (don't have another Sand of Blood to replicate a Raid bug) or just didn't have the bandwidth. I don't just pile on tickets either. If I experience the issue again I reply to my existing ticket.

Would I like others to also fill out tickets yes and no. On the one hand more tickets mean more data for how wide spread the error is. On the other hand more tickets mean an increase in the backlog.

My main complaint with the tickets taking weeks and months is those events. If I experience an error with an event (for instance with the Pirate dungeon I ran into an issue that had previously only happened in raids) it doesn't mean much when the event is already over and there is no longer a bug to fix and if you unfortunately got the wrong support agent you won't get anything out of it aside from "that shouldn't have happened" and a closed ticket with no chance for response.

I am also fearful because I am seeing an increase in the few discords I am in of players who get one of the overflows that will not go away and they are locked out for entire events.

Do I want to have to bring up concerns on a stream meant to show off something (again move it back to more than a few hours before launch for maximum impact) but when we don't feel heard on the forums, facebook, twitter, or our tickets, we're going to attempt to engage with the new method of twitch streams. I would love to just sit back and get excited about the content but instead there is still the concern of "don't get too hyped, there is no assurance I'll get to experience it.

TicketMaster strikes again, an absolutely terrifying sight.

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Originally Posted by MuzakMaker

(fun fact Joms is considered a joke in quite a few of them especially after the gold issue).

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Is that jealousy I hear?

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Originally Posted by Mateja

TicketMaster strikes again, an absolutely terrifying sight.



Is that jealousy I hear?

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Why would I be jealous? My clan does perfectly fine and while I appreciate the attempt at an insulting nickname I'm not that evil.

In a serious response, please see my response to your clan mate. I honestly thought you guys would also find it funny that obsessive players hated you guys that much.

Why would anyone find Joms as the butt of a joke. As far as clan related issues we have been quiet about any so called achievements, podium placements or clan related comments.

I don't particularly care who hates me and who doesn't. You can do whatever you want. If making fun of me or my clan makes you happy then go for it, only speaks about you. I'm not sure if you noticed but the guys from Joms were always the most helpful people around here, before the forum deteriorated into a whining fest with almost no value. Repeating something a million times is the same as shouting at the sky and hoping it will bring the rain.

To get back to the actual topic of this thread. It's always good to see some initiative and streaming of upcoming content is a cool idea. Agreed about the timing, it was at midnight in my timezone and it would be simpler if I just went to sleep and saw the dungeon in the morning.
Some studio action would also be interesting, maybe some concept art or reasoning and inspiration behind new introductions (especially ones that have little relation to Maiden). With covid situation that's probably off the table for a while but at least some of it can be talked about from home. All in all a nice idea that can certainly be improved in the future.

P.S. Stop bringing clans into everything people, if one person does or says something it doesn't mean that's the view of the whole clan. It's still a pretty loosely bound group of people.

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Originally Posted by Muzzleloader

Why would anyone find Joms as the butt of a joke. As far as clan related issues we have been quiet about any so called achievements, podium placements or clan related comments.

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From what I've seen in those groups there are a few reasons Joms isn't liked by others and a lot of that stems from the fact that you all have your clan in your signature.

(please don't shoot the messenger, I'm just condensing what I've seen and heard and not claiming to agree or disagree)

1. To others it appears that you guys gang up on other players when it could be just players who agreeing with each other.

2. The fact that you guys do tend to have personal insults (calling me a "sad individual", every interaction with Saints_sin) in comments when there is a disagreement.

3. The negative gold issue that you guys got attributed to and the story is that you guys were so dumb enough to out yourselves as cheaters (I don't actually fully remember this so that could be a bunch of hearsay)

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Originally Posted by Mateja

I don't particularly care who hates me and who doesn't. You can do whatever you want. If making fun of me or my clan makes you happy then go for it, only speaks about you. I'm not sure if you noticed but the guys from Joms were always the most helpful people around here, before the forum deteriorated into a whining fest with almost no value. Repeating something a million times is the same as shouting at the sky and hoping it will bring the rain.

To get back to the actual topic of this thread. It's always good to see some initiative and streaming of upcoming content is a cool idea. Agreed about the timing, it was at midnight in my timezone and it would be simpler if I just went to sleep and saw the dungeon in the morning.
Some studio action would also be interesting, maybe some concept art or reasoning and inspiration behind new introductions (especially ones that have little relation to Maiden). With covid situation that's probably off the table for a while. All in all a nice idea that can certainly be improved in the future.

P.S. Stop bringing clans into everything people, if one person does or says something it doesn't mean that's the view of the whole clan. It's still a pretty loosely bound group of people.

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Again, I'm not saying whether or not I hate you and I am now seeing that my attempt at a light-hearted "look at what these others have convinced themselves of" was poorly misjudged.

As you can see in my signature I understand that my constant calling out of the the ticketing issue appears to be just as fruitful as yelling at a cloud. But I will keep bringing it up in the relevant threads until it is fixed.

I do agree there is a lot of potential for these streams but it seems like both the timing was just not great (but hey, first stream so lessons can be learned and acted on).

My suggestion for the streams: Finding a time that works well for the whole world won't be easy so instead of modifying that too much (let it just be a time that works great for the team)have it predate the content being teased enough that those who are sleeping can rewatch the stream and have some dedicated place for Q&A for those players. This could be on any or all of Facebook, this forum, or twitter.

I won't quote all of the above, too much text.

People focus too much on clans and who belongs to which clan. I can have my opinion and my clanmate has his opinion, a lot of things are interpreted as ganging up merely because of our signatures. We're not the only clan who puts their affiliation in signature either. There is and was a bunch of others. Again, whatever a clan member does, is not what clan as a whole does. Your "lighthearted" comments came off as everything but lighthearted.

We agree on some topics, disagree on others, fight a bit and all's well. That's what internet is like. As for interactions with some extremely misguided pieces of work - only insults come through, reasoning and logic won't help there. I tried.

We can't change how others view us but we can change how we act and how we respond. I noticed that my tone wasn't conveyed properly and instead of insulting I apologized.

Imo, when your signature says member of 'clan x', like it or not, what you say becomes somewhat representative of your clan, and you really shouldn't be spewing off the mouth and acting like a twat and not expect it to garner a negative impression of your clan, especially when multiple members do it often. Represent!

It's similar to when someone who works for some company x posts something inflammatory online, forgetting about the company logo at the bottom of their post, then gets reprimanded by their company and has to send out an apology stating what they posted was not representative of their company, or their company fires them, stating the same. Just my thoughts. Take it outside people :)