Ever since I can remember gaming companies tried to entice potential customers to their products by giving them a taste of the finished product. This was done by producing screenshots, video's, interviews with developers and demo's. Its a practice that (I hope you agree) is still quite prevalent today.
However since CCP experienced our
sea of discontent as so aptly portraited by Fiddlers Edge we have been left in the dark. We know that certain devs have good ideas, we know that they have asked for feedback on their plans and this is all well and good. However of the coming establishments, open area's and of the new additional CQ's we have seen nothing recent. Neither have we seen any kind of information regarding other plans in EVE At least not those of us who have not signed an NDA.
Sure CCP has done some interviews, saying all kinds of stuff. They say they are
balancing every ship in the game. They also say they are going to redesign 0.0 over the coming 5 years, these changes span from introducing "smallholds" to making smaller alliances viable in 0.0 (with treaties I presume). These plans are needed and welcome but in which way will EVE benefit from all this discussion and planning in practice in the coming year? We have no idea, but the next expansion is only 3 months away.
Why does CCP continue to stealth about upcoming plans, ideas and new features. I am sure that many things need to be ironed out but on the other hand certain things and ideas must have progressed in such a way that they are scheduled for a release somewhere between now and early june? I dearly hope that for instance CQ's are more then halfway finished by now since the CSM got a preview of them in June. How are the new ship skins coming or the nerfing of the dramiel or the balancing of other ships?
What is stopping CCP to inform their clients, on the product that they subscribe to? Vague promises of changes just about on the horizon without context we allready have received. These in itself are not the problem, the lack of any other input to wet our appetites for new eve content is. We have not even seen a dedicated page to Incarna or the coming winter expansion. Nor have we seen or heard anything about what exactly the goal will be in the upcoming "establishments".
Last night several of my friends who are already unsubbed got a mail about how CCP invited them back to EVE assuring them that CCP had no plans to implement game breaking items in the NeX store. While this is one of the issues many people unsubbed over they did not address the issues completely nor did they offer any new or exciting changes to their potential new customers. Overal the mail was an unconvincing, almost sad attempt to tempt people back without any real changes. These are not my words, but the opinion of the people receiving the mail.
If we can make dev blogs about two new shirts and a skirt being released on the NeX, it couldn't hurt about making one about the upcoming new skins of the ships and the ability to paint them. I don't think that a devblog like that would be received badly by any Capsuleer and it is just one example out of many topics that could be discussed in a positive way.
This would benefit both CCP, their players and the bitter old vets of which I know I am one. Like I said before, inside every bitter vet there is a fanboy, screaming to get out and play. Give us a chance to release him/her.