What happened to our playerbase?

I agree with this, but... #hashtag?

You keep using hashtags on forums. I don't think they work how you think they work. #irony

 

No updates in an age. Plain and simple. I played again two days ago for the first time in almost half a year. I have an idea for a base that worked to the previous build, but if it get's wiped then what is the point? I thought I'd wait and occasionally check in, but my impatience -and love of Starbound- got the better of me. I respect the need for the creators to take their time -I'm a writer by hobby and have spent seven years on my first book, which has gone through many changes and great improvement over the drafts- but I would prefer many smaller -and faster- updates to one big one -that takes a year to coalesce.

 

Yep. I like Starbound a lot, but I am now waiting on the Big Update. My character maxed out in Sector X...and while I could still pop on and fly around and explore worlds, I feel like I'd rather just start over fresh when the new progression system's in place. My lack of playing in no way translates to a lack of interest however.

 

People lloose interest over time. The number of players returning will never be equal or larger than the number of players that checked the game, played it, and lost interest because of incredibly slow updates for the stable version.

I for one, Im running out of things to do in sector X, and things do look repetitive and empty. Basic tools are missing (managing liquids for example). The devs shouldnt relax so much with the stable build, since that is the build that will keep the bulk of players interested.

 

I gave up.

 

Well, in that case...

<yoda> I am wondering... why are you here? </yoda>

 

To remind people like you why.

 

No updates, very very poor PR work and a generally stifling attitude towards criticism caused most of the playerbase to give up on Starbound.

Most of the people I've talked to have a "too little too late" attitude toward the game, especially considering a lot of them did Pre-Orders for a full game to be released in 2013 and then they got an alpha release in December 2013, followed by little to no updates.

 

"People like me?"

You mean, people who are impatient about the very slow pace of development towards objectives and the seeming lack of a plan for SB's development, and who have come close many times on giving up on ever seeing the thing completed?

Or are you referring to the White Knights and diehard fanboys who would still defend every decision the devs have ever made, even if the game hadn't yet come out and it was the year 2050?

I'm just saying, if you have totally given up on the project, I wonder why you're sticking around here? Most of us, even the malcontents, are here because we wish the project well and hope to see it completed.

 

I would say the people who are absolutely pissed are the ones who dont really understand what EA is. But, on the hand, there are a few examples of EA (and EA like) games that failed miserably that probably helped tipped many towards being afraid this game would fail. Look at Towns as a prime example. The creator pulled some serious crap with the community. Literally posted "the community is mean, i quit" and then disappeared for a year. When the sales began to dip low, he popped in for a short time, released a quick bug fix that broke more than it helped, then quit again. Theres more drama to the whole thing but i dont want to get into it.

Another thing to consider is that Tiy himself posted in late 2012 that the games was almost complete. In mid 2013 he said it would be out by the end of 2013 for sure! and then posted another push back in September.

I am not upset in the least. I knew his estimated dates were gonna fall flat most likely because ive been a part of a game dev team myself. So i dont mind waiting. Im happy with the progress so far, and even if im a bit frustrated at the slowness of updates, id rather things get improved upon and take longer than to be rushed and be crap.

 

Even though his response to you was needlessly confrontational. Allow me to offer an alternative response, as you could very likely qualify me as someone who has "given up" on Starbound.

I would very much like to inform potential customers of my opinion that they should avoid the purchase of Starbound or at very least avoid participating in their Early Access program. In my opinion the entire Starbound development process has been botched horribly, and every time I read something written by a member of the Chucklefish team I feel worse and worse about giving them any of my money, no matter how small it may have been. If I can potentially steer any of my fellow gamers in the right direction so they avoid paying for StarBound Early Access then I feel like I've done my best to make up for my mistake.

 

@Hefeweizen Well, for what it's worth, I would also caution most people right now to wait until development is "complete" (i.e., save-wipes are a thing of the past, and all the initially promised features have been implemented) before purchasing SB. Doesn't mean I've given up, I just am not a fan of the way that CF has handled the EA distribution model.

 

So its not enough for you to not play a game which you will receive the full version of, because you already paid for it. No one else should play either despite the fact that the update and progress is coming?

That's completely ridiculous. Never has 15$ been made to be such a great sacrifice.(and yes I realize people paid more with the kickstarter, but with that money Chuckle fish is making decisions not just with the game, but as a company. We don't get to decide where or when our money is spent, only that it contributed to the business goal of fully developing the game.)

 

If you get a particularly bad meal at a restaurant, would you want to worn people to avoid it? Any time I have a bad experience with a business I like to spread negative word of mouth, its really the only tool the consumer has.

But please, can we stay on topic? I'd appreciate you not derailing the thread in order to insult me.

 

They did not cheat you, you paid good money knowing this game was incomplete. They are much better now with providing information about what they are doing and where they are. And If I went to the official forums of a AAA company and started disparaging their content. It wouldn't be long before I am told to be quiet or otherwise silenced, either by the players or by the mods.

 

We've had this discussion before. Refer to the "thoughts on 1.0" thread. It has many, many pages of us all going around in circles. For the record, I'm inclined to side with @Hefeweizen on this one - though my anti-recommendation of purchasing SB at the moment will be always be qualified with a recommendation to follow the site and buy the game the minute it's out of "beta" (which is actually more like alpha at this stage).

 

I didn't say they cheated me, I said they have provided very very poor service during their Early Access Program. I have compared it to other Early Access Programs that I've purchased and I can say without any doubt or sense of hyperbole that this is by far the worst I've experienced.

Now, do you think you could stop derailing the topic and picking a fight?

To steer it back on topic: What do you think happened to the playerbase? Dropping for a height of 80k players all the way down to 3k players if quite a drop, do you think it is just from the lack of patches and that most will be back? Or do you think that ChuckleFish has developed a bad reputation?

 

It's just people that act like developing a game is really easy that left.

 

Don't you think that is a bit dismissive of all criticism? Also, rather insulting. I know full well that game development can be tough, however when I compare it with the dozens and dozens of other Early Access games on the market at the moment, it is rather obvious purely by comparison that ChuckleFish has done a rather poor job of managing their Early Access Program.

When you say that "It's just people that act like developing a game is really easy that left." it implies that anyone who isn't satisfied with how StarBound has developed has unrealistic expectation as far as the pace of development and the quality of developer/community interaction goes.

This is exactly like some jerk coming on these boards and saying "StarBound is Dead, LOL! Only people left on forums are fanboys and girls drawing fan art of their characters!!! 4:20 Yolo swag!" Its stupid, dismissive of the intelligence of those who do not share your opinion on the game and is honestly uncalled for.