Fresh stuff from sukhoi.ru (Discussion)

[mazex]

Originally Posted by Insuber

Dear BlackSix - I refer to your post in the locked thread, where you complain about the users negativity and you link this to the absence of a Friday update.
As an experienced manager in the services business let me give you a very friendly advice: closing the communication channels with your customers will not improve a tough situation, on the contrary it will worsen it. I already see - in this very forum - some long-time, faithful and disciplined users turn into angry terrorists. And your company needs prophets and apostles, not terrorists spreading negativity about your product. The success of Il2 Sturmovik was very much due to this "word of mouth" positive publicity. As I see it now you are setting up the stage for a completely opposite result: angry ex-customers telling to their friends to keep away from this product. And I I BELIEVE THAT MG DOESN'T DESERVE IT, BECAUSE OF THE HUNDRED THOUSAND HOURS OF DEDICATED AND PASSIONATE WORK which went into CloD.

In the customer-supplier relationship you have only one option: tell the customer the bad and the good news. Silemce is never a solution.

Cheers,
Insuber

+1 on everything in your post, and I hope you count me in as one of the formerly disciplined users that has turned "to the dark side". I also work as a manager in the software development business and I work a lot with process development for service support and delivery using ITIL as a framework like most other large companies. Customers can take a LOT if you communicate with them and many times you get amazed with the things they can accept if they get a fast response and regular updates on their reported incidents. What does NOT work is blaming others and failing to communicate back that their problem unfortunately is not solved yet.

One can also be amazed at the bad-will that can happen if a user that has an annoying problem with your software files an incident and it gets stuck in the system so the user even doesn't get a response in weeks. Suddenly you make the first page of some major newspaper and then the situation is out of your control... Modern media where all newspaper articles are also posted on websites with public blogs attached to each article makes this even worse. Suddenly the bad publicity article about your company gets a thread with hundreds of other users that whine about the problem that never should have been up for public discussion in the first place. That's a fact with the new communications channels available now.

For a product like this forums are a major communication channel. If you fail to acknowledge that and the irritation among your customers gets as bad as it is here now you have a major problem. Starting to hint that the reason your disappointed customers wont get updates is because they are too irritated about the lack of communication is really not that good of an idea? Kind of like the death penalty... The society says you can't kill people so now we kill you to set an example.

Just as you say, last week many former supporters like myself had enough and joined the irritated group after the over-moderation here combined with the statement that we won't get any updates as we are so irritated... If I was the manager at MG I would take this dead serious and do the only thing possible to correct it by spending an hour posting here this Friday, and then spend 30 minutes each week for the regular Friday updates... But that's my opinion and it seems like the management of MG think another way about how to spend their time. They are really far down the trust road with their most loyal customers - and that is serious business where you have to accept that even if you are dead tired of the childish attitude of them - you have to bite the pillow and respond in a polite manner! That's how it works unfortunately...

[Towarisch]

ONLY A PATCH without BUG´s etc. is a good PATCH.



So we will wait for it. Then it´s SPRING





THX


Towarisch

[Walrus1]

This, finally, is the update. Very brief, but to the point:

Originally Posted by BlackSix

Then began the new problems and changes in the timing of release. We can promise something now, but the situation again. I don't see in it sense.

Initially it was stated that the patch was ready and then a very minor sounding bug was found.

Now, we learn there are 'new problems.'

Of course this was suspected, but why not just say it in an update: 'We had thought we were very close but now are stuck on a few new problems that came up. Patch release postponed without a clear time frame known.'

That would have been a much better communication strategy. Not 'there is no information and you customers are too irritating to respond to until I feel like it.'

[addman]

Originally Posted by Walrus1

Of course this was suspected, but why not just say it in an update: 'We had thought we were very close but now are stuck on a few new problems that came up. Patch release postponed without a clear time frame known.

Because it would be too simple and make too much sense. Seriously though I agree here, keep the updates frank, clear and to the point and I bet there will be less confusion and uproars.

[nearmiss]

It won't make any difference.

The members that care and are in good standing will continue to do what they do and the troublemakers will always find ways to spread their ilk.

Update or no update those of us who know the score will be fine with it.

We're just waiting for the patches...

[Aer9o]

Originally Posted by nearmiss

It won't make any difference.

The members that care and are in good standing will continue to do what they do and the troublemakers will always find ways to spread their ilk.

Update or no update those of us who know the score will be fine with it.

We're just waiting for the patches...

TRUE,... however there are limits! Something is got to give, there must be some alpha or beta patch available by now which we all will be more than happy to test!... Why they do not release that?

[flyingblind]

Because, as has been said ad nauseum, there would be no point. If a stop gap, probably buggy interim patch were released then the knashing of teeth and rending of garments would be deafening. The developers have said that as far as they are concerned the only thing that will pacify the customers is a fully working patch that fixes the major problems besetting the game at the moment. And that is what they have promised and are concentrating on. Until they are sure it is in the bag they are not giving any hints, timelines or concrete information as clearly some just cannot cope with the disappointment should some unforeseen slip occure between cup and lip.

I mean, how many explanations and apologies do you need from BlackSix before you accept they are communicating.

[mazex]

Originally Posted by flyingblind

Because, as has been said ad nauseum, there would be no point. If a stop gap, probably buggy interim patch were released then the knashing of teeth and rending of garments would be deafening. The developers have said that as far as they are concerned the only thing that will pacify the customers is a fully working patch that fixes the major problems besetting the game at the moment. And that is what they have promised and are concentrating on. Until they are sure it is in the bag they are not giving any hints, timelines or concrete information as clearly some just cannot cope with the disappointment should some unforeseen slip occure between cup and lip.

I mean, how many explanations and apologies do you need from BlackSix before you accept they are communicating.

Well, working like that when developing software is how it was done in the 80:ies and 90:ies. Developers worked with fixed requirements set the start of the project, fixed resources but in reality no fixed point of delivery as all requirements had to be done before release - and minimal customer involvement accept for the initial requirements... After a while the customers got so annoyed with the results that took forever and did not meet the customers expectations that the development managers realized that it maybe was a bad idea to work like that? These days the most of the software development world work in another way (agile development, XP, Scrum - there are many names but the same core principle applies). You have fixed resources, fixed points of delivery (you release to customers every 3-6 weeks) and the thing that is variable is what gets into the release... You work tight with the customers and get feedback every month from the end users what they liked and when you start the next sprint (the 3-6 week long iteration that end with a new end user delivery) you use the customer feedback to decide what goes into the sprint. After hearing that the users that really liked X but not Y the way it worked in the system it's possible to maybe focus more on X and less on Y in the next sprint? Or maybe ditch Y? Or fix it? Without the feedback from the customers there are just a bunch of engineers guessing what the end users like - and engineers are not good at guessing!

But not in mother Russia...

[SlipBall]

They are a very small studio and we are lucky to have them, just hold on and enjoy the parts that are playable with your system while you wait. I enjoy it now, and look forward to any improvements that help people waiting to fly...people need to upgrade their systems though

[Rjel]

Originally Posted by nearmiss

It won't make any difference.

The members that care and are in good standing will continue to do what they do and the troublemakers will always find ways to spread their ilk.

Update or no update those of us who know the score will be fine with it.

We're just waiting for the patches...

I think most care more than you think. Not everyone expresses themselves as well as they might. Some here truly do stir the pot. Others I think, like myself, have adopted a wait and see approach. The rest have been able to maintain an amazing enthusiasm for CoD. But IMO, it's the us verses them attitude that is growing here that spells doom for this "community". Especially when it is fostered by the mods.