Dear Kyle: let's make an objective review of SE development, shall we?

[plo]

They help in the areas they can. But if the coding is the thing that's lacking behind, there is nothing they can do.

Yes, it seems that coding is their main problem and they should really do something about it.

[plo]

The presentation is really awesome but personally I don't like an MMO combined with a TCG. The whole idea of leveling up and socketing cards is very "pay to win". And the exclusives they give to the preorder customers are also "pay to win". So I backed them with $120 just to try it out, but I don't think that's enough to win.

So Hex is pay2win; Scourge Colossus says hi.

[Sailas]

So Hex is pay2win; Scourge Colossus says hi.

Lol? Yeah, scourge colossus has totally unbalanced the game xD

[Caitlyn0]

i only have this to add because painful didnt quite mention it. M&M DoC has been out just over a year (and i mean just over a year, like less than a month i think it is) and they have the base set and are getting ready to release their THIRD expansion to that (meaning they already released 2 expansions) so thats FOUR card sets in a year they have designed.

and ubisoft is pretty big BUT they have a lot of games they are doing (very high double digits) and they are able to maintain and advance them all.

but really, what makes them better isnt any of that... its that they are motivated. no offense Kyle, but this is something that is lacking with Wulven. how many things are 95% done? and how long have they been 95% done?

[Kip thorp]

Hey Kyle,
Stricltly from a marketing point of view: the progress in he game is painfully slow. I stated before that your company was losing players before DP was released.
I believe the same is happening. My concern is that you have a core of dedicated players and your game attracks not enough new players who stay around.
That means a loss of possible income to keep this game going and other projects your working on. How many core players spend money on SC? How many new players spend more than a few $ and then grind thier way of just lose interst because the card pool is not expected to increase for god knows how long, and we all know whe are looking at a year at least ( prove me wrong! Please! )

ThripleHBK as a long time player and game expert has very valid points, promises not kept are remembered for a very long time.
I know your company and vision for SE are most important, but I truly believe you are missing a core stratagey to keep your game interesting and players full of anticipation to play and spend thier $ on your new products.

An investment in a corporate plumber is needed, find out where the clog is and clear it! Is it, coding? Is it design? Is it production? Is it management?

You know better than I how fast app games come and go and how much competition you have. Communicate better with your player/customers. Present realistic goals, faster rewards ( monthly seasons was a great move), faster cards out, make less for each expansion. The PFG is a fantastic move, but keep the other 1000's of players involved with something, not just threads.

Keep using the game load announcement screen ,but use your in game mail, you did once, it will pay off! And for gods sake ship the physical DP cards to the people you owe. Keep it faster , keep people on thier toes with how much you do , as uposed to what is said now.

I did not mean to be disrespectful and if I sounded that way , please forgive a passionate, dedicated player.
By the way, the game is still Awsome, but I was bored until the season reset and the possibility that I might have a chance at a prize!
Thanks!

[Zeuhl]

If a limb is gangrenous and would likely cause death, then there is no compromise, the only recourse is to cut it off as soon as possible.

Oftentimes, real lasting change requires the most radical measures.

[psychobabble]

i only have this to add because painful didnt quite mention it. M&M DoC has been out just over a year (and i mean just over a year, like less than a month i think it is) and they have the base set and are getting ready to release their THIRD expansion to that (meaning they already released 2 expansions) so thats FOUR card sets in a year they have designed.

and ubisoft is pretty big BUT they have a lot of games they are doing (very high double digits) and they are able to maintain and advance them all.

but really, what makes them better isnt any of that... its that they are motivated. no offense Kyle, but this is something that is lacking with Wulven. how many things are 95% done? and how long have they been 95% done?

The MMDOC comparison is really eye-opening. The development pace on that game so far outstrips SE that it seems almost unfair to compare it. And not only on the card side of things, the UI and game features too. Soon after the first expansion they launched a swiss tournament system that was just incredibly well executed, they've had an achievement system in since the start but have expanded it at both of the two expansions in really neat ways, they introduced in-client chat and friends list challenges, last expansion they introduced a nice daily login rewards sytem and they are about to implement a huge new individual card acquisition system which looks really neat with the next expansion.

The game's not perfect. The card pool is probably more wide than deep and there are technical issues with the servers which cause games to bug out sometimes. But as you say - stuff gets DONE. This game looks positively dead in comparison, and that's pretty much been the case since late 2011 when the progress of the first set incremental releases shutdown and the finalisation of the set for the physical card printing process tookover and caused everything to come crashing to a halt.

[Riccardo]

I agree with many of us.

I m really sad to see these very slow updated, new expansion is cool but when i play it seems the big average of decks use always the same "core cards" ( i mean aeon, what a big teeth....) with some little implementation coming from the first SE expansion....so often decks seems a little bit predictable.....imo we need new expansion soon in order to increase variety of the game.

I love SE era and i don't leave it! Anyway i keep my eyes open around the market and i am playing to MMDOC. It is great too. MMDOC updates very fast!...second expansion is coming at the end of the month...core set and 2 expansions in 8 month!But also MMDOC has some big lack! Deck builder is terrible, and if you would create 2 decks wich share same cards you cannot use them at the same time!....

SE and MMDOC competes in the same arena but their mechanics and rules are differents....the big problem is another big competitor is coming, i mean the new Blizzard TCG "hearthstone" wich is very similar to SE.....so SE have to upgrades and improves fast in order to keep the SE fan's interest.

[CyrusKhane]

I'm kinda tired of people dropping the Ubi/Wulven thing. Money is not the issue here. It's bad management. Coding is bad, bugs run rampant after being brought to attention, nothing promised EVER arrives on time, if it all. Customers get ripped off big time, etc. If you run a company and a minion fucks up, you fire 'em and get them out the door before they have a chance to respond. Management needs to remove their heads from their assholes and start making moves, because SE is stagnating once again, and another weakass set that won't come out until 2014 isn't gonna save the game.

[BDK16]

I really hope Kyle reads this thread and all the posts.

They contain really helpful tips and valid points.

I have nothing to add.