If you want to be a game reviewer and post reviews for the world to read then they should be written professionally. Professionally written articles will be taken far more seriously than rants, raves, and silliness. That is a fact.
And how is sulla's article any of rants, raves and silliness? His is the best clinical dissection of Civ5 gameplay thus far and shouldn't be taken seriously because you deemed it NOT written professionally?
Please. Don't try to be a grown up.
Moderator Action: Please don't insult other members.
Yes, developers/designers/modders might read these boards so use every post you make to try and help them by giving them a vision. Comments like those that follow this quote make people dismiss your arguments as ridiculous rants. Any fool (I'm not calling you a fool - I'm quoting somebody whom I work with and respect) can complain about something - always back up your complaints with solutions.
Might? Are you somehow grasping for the off-chance that the developers will grace these boards and picked up on your -oh so well crafted - contribution? You know, for all you know the faerie god mother MIGHT decide you need a new look. Or a new brain.
Let me explain the quote to you, which is in itself a great quote. When you
are working together with other people on something, the quote tells you it is always better to offer a solution to a problem instead of just complaining about the problem.
Which is NOT applicable in our case. We are not working WITH the developer to make Civ5. We are consumers, and our duty is to hold the developer accountable, not take over their job.
IF the developer wants to pick our brains and find out if there is any brilliant ideas among the fans, it is THEIR JOB to make their presence felt and ASK the community for ideas. They should also preferrably roll out the red carpet and credit each and every idea they adopt from the fans and award the originator of the idea. THAT is the proper way to do things if the dev is sincere about get community FEEDBACK. Otherwise, we'll simply assume they have things under control and hold them accountable when things turn out otherwise.
Fans = customer = GOD. Do not take us for granted.
Obviously I would prefer if the game is fun as released by the developers but if the modders make it fun then I will play it and enjoy it. I don't care who makes the game great!
Can any comment be any more selfish then this? Of course you don't care who makes the game great!!! You are just sitting there waiting for fearie dust to fall over you while you pretend to be nice and dandy.
As I have repeated elsewhere, firstly, the modders are you FELLOW gamers (please get that into your head, please, have some thinking capabilities). If a game is released in a beta state, you and they are both being exploited. And somehow, you expect them to fix the game for you?
I'll tell you a very simple difference between how I treat a fan developed mod and a commercial product. And why I care who is making what. When I received a great mod, for free, I am thankful beyond words for the effort and thoughts the modders put into their brainchild. When I get a bad mod, I chalked it up to my bad luck.
The game is different. When I PAY and buy a game, I expect it to be good. If it is good, it is money well spent, and I consider the game studio a quality one, BUT I am not beholden to them. However, if I PAY and get an unfinished product, I raise hell.
Lastly, there are things a mod just cannot fix.
I am honestly tired of having to explain what is a difference between the duty of the game studio and the community and why we shouldn't take modders for granted. But get this: Bad games don't have (many) modders working on them. Period. And I firmly place Civ5 in the category of bad games.
The jury isn't in on that yet.
Well, don't hold your breath.