See, the problem I have with all the haters is this:
How about a bit of tact? This is the single biggest thing I dislike about this forum since Civ 5's announcement. I work as a game developer (or rather worked, I went indie because I was sick of the commercial games industry) and let me tell you something. In my experience, when you work on a game, you read EVERYTHING. Every review, and thousands of forum posts. Firaxis people will read these forums, and surely out of respect for them and the wonderful years of gaming they've brought you, you could try and be a bit more tactful in expressing your disappointment?
I worked on a little ol' game called Driver 3. Yeah, it sucked. It also took 3 years of MASSIVELY HARD graft, where you end up alienating your friends and family due to working so many late nights, sleep deprived and stressed to hell. You're so close to the game you're working on you start to lose the ability to tell whether what you're working on is good or bad. You do your best and the game goes out there... despite better judgement you scour the internet daily, google alerts, refresh, refresh.... looking for some validation from the gamers for all your hard work... to make you know the toll it took was all worthwhile.
I still remember when I read the savage 5.4 IGN review one night on my PC. I was in tears. It cut really deep. I can't imagine what it would feel like to read some of the stuff that's said on this forum.
You make an interesting point, and I understand where you are coming from. However, for everybody that complains about a game, whether just a quick statement or a long essay, there are just as many people that are hardcore dedicated no matter what...
I know critisism is useful, and Firaxis will obviously count on user feedback both positive and negative but jesus. "Greg and Elizabeth have betrayed us all!" "I wish I could go back in time and give the UI designer an abortion" "Petition to have Elizabeth sacked!" To name but a few that spring to mind, but undoubtedly not the worst.
Yes, these are harsh, but are they any different than the people who quickly bash anybody who has something to say about why they dislike a feature?
It makes me ashamed to be a Civ fan.
It's not about being a Civ fan... it is just about people who dislike hearing others opinions. It is the same here as it is in Washington, DC (or any other government center in the world). Though, I have (half) joked in the past that Civilization Forums do seem to be worse than political ones.
This is why we get pissed off with the haters. Sure you don't like it, but others do, and despite the fact that apparently Firaxis made something that doesn't quite fit your tastes it still is, objectively, an EXCELLENT game whether or not it's an excellent game which has gone in a direction you personally don't approve of. How about you show Firaxis, and all the people who put so much hard work and passion into the game, a little respect?
Still, that goes the other way too. When someone puts up a critique (even if on something minor), then they are quickly made into a villian by the elite fanboys who are blinded by the expectation that Firaxis can do no wrong. The fact is, while I do admire and respect Firaxis, they are not perfect and when they make decisions, it may seem great to them, but turns out to not be a great idea once it is already out there. It happens to everybody from
Game Developers to
Film Makers to
Book Authors to
Song Writers (and so on).
Anyway, my point is that respect is a two-way street.
Obviously this doesn't apply to every one of the haters, but an upsettingly large proportion. The vile things I've read on this forum should never be read by someone who have hardly seen their girlfriend for the past six months because they've been slaving away doing a ton of (unpaid, almost definitely) overtime trying to make something you'll enjoy. It's not right. It makes us want to fight back hard against all the haters to show our support, and THIS is why the OP gets the reaction he does.
While I hear ya, the truth is that it all comes with the territory and you have to learn to have
thick skin whenever you are making a game or any other creative endeavor. You have to learn to ignore the vile flamers and bashers and, at the same time, take criticism. One thing is for sure, you are never going to please anybody.
I guarantee your 'hard earned money' that you've put into this is not a dot compared to what they put into it. Sure you have rights. But where's their right not to be personally attacked and insulted over what are, at the end of the day, rather trivial and objective differences in opinion in game design? The difference between me and them is, they would get into trouble for responding to the hate, even though I bet every ounce of their beings want to respond and defend themselves. But in that situation you just can't, you just have to sit back and take it on the chin, 'don't let it get to you' and hope the next thing you read is positive.
While I understand that developers may have to make a lot of sacrifices, I would say to be careful when comparing that to an individual's "hard earned money". The thing is, Game Developers are creating a product that is intended to improve an individual's morale (happiness, if you will). When an individual pays $50 for something that they expect to make them happy, and it falls short... even by a little... then yeah, they are going to be upset. For some, that may be their one escape in the wicked, evil and cruel world where they are, in the end, just slaves to the grind and stuck in positions that they cannot get out of because everything is stacked against them so they turn to one thing that lets them feel like they are in power... are the top of the food chain and to have it be underwhelming can really put a sting into that person's emotion and soul.
Ahem, anyway, well, that is just an example... I am purley just speculating here.
So if I get a little defensive and annoyed when people make flippant hurtful remarks that go way beyond constructive criticism, or use unnecessarily violent and hate-filled language, this is why. I know how negative reactions to stuff you work on feels, and I've never read anything 1/10th as bad about my stuff than I've read on here about Civ and Firaxis. Yet some of the stuff I've worked on probably deserve such scorn a lot more than Firaxis, one of the best developers that gamers could possibly ask for, ever could.
'nuf said.
Still, it is not good to look at Firaxis (or any other studio, etc) with rose-colored glasses and act like they can do no wrong.
Now, personally, I am liking CIV 5 enough (so far) despite some misgivens. I am still not a super fan of the 1UPT in Civilization, but I have accepted the change and I am dealing with it. Besides that, I am pretty certain that I won't be going back to CIV IV anytime soon. Though, if I broke it down, I am also certain that I could find plenty of things
wrong with the game or out of place. As an example, I feel that the pacing (at least in the early game) is a bit off... but I do have to play some more.
