Cynthia statement about the first 2015 stream

We're never going to be able to answer all of the questions we get, straight away. Some information has to be revealed in time, when it is appropriate. I fully understand that the community frequently disagrees on when the timing of something like this is 'right'.

Regarding custom hotkeys? We know it's something that the community wants.

You say that answers indicate things are 'implemented in the game without being thought through enough'. We receive a ton of criticism for acting too slowly or taking our time to work on something. To be frank, our team does not make laissez-faire decisions with our development regardless of perception.

What I was trying to convey is that there is a long list of features, changes and updates that we want to do for CoH2. We can't do everything at once. Our community frequently disagrees on which is 'top priority' and as a team we weigh conversations in forums, on social channels, and pull-in game data to make educated decisions on what is next and where we should be going. We receive a ton of requests. Factions? People want Brits, more Germans, South Pacific Stuff, Canadians, Italians... you name it, we get requests for it. Sometimes the data that we pull directly contradicts certain sentiments in forums. An easy example of this is the outcry regarding Ardennes Assault. The majority of our online community leans towards multi-player. However when we review game data, we have a significant single-player population. They generally choose to interact with our brand differently. This doesn't mean we shouldn't develop for them as well.

We are not the first game studio to use NDAs, and we won't be the last. Transparency differs greatly across studios as well. Do we think we've already hit the 'sweet spot' where we're being as transparent as possible? No. It's a process we are continually working on and striving to improve. There will always be studios more transparent than us. There will always be studios that are less transparent. We have to do what's right for us, and we acknowledge that this is a work in progress. No one is sitting here telling you that we think we're perfect at everything. However I'll flat out tell you we're never going to be able to give you a 'non-evasive answer' on every single question. Sometimes we don't even know the answer to a question right away - we have to take time to review, iterate, test out theories, and determine the right answer to something. Balance is a good example of that.

2014 was a very aggressive year for the CoH team, we shipped two projects which meant the team was in a near-permanent state of shipping and launching. The majority of our team didn't take vacations. The studio holiday at the end of 2014 was needed. 2015 has a lot in store for fans, and we're currently in heads-down mode working on a bunch of stuff. When we are ready to reveal what that stuff is, we will. In addition to game content, there are a lot of community initiatives currently in development. Further Q&A support? Already in development. Nothing happens as quickly as people think it does.


http://community.companyofheroes.com/forum/company-of-heroes-2/company-of-heroes-2-general-discussion/143553-my-opinion-about-todays-stream

Hey Havenco, thanks for the follow-up question We know there is a community desire surrounding these commanders, for sure! With timed-release content, we have to weigh things such as how to make it especially appealing and motivating for those that participated in the event, as well as how we handle requests from people that either were not able to participate in the original event, or perhaps joined our community/came into the franchise after the event. It's a balancing act - we do want to keep some content exclusive for certain activities, but understand the desire to have 'all of the things' in-game.

Regarding those specific commanders, that is something in discussion but I have nothing specific to update regarding their status just yet.

http://community.companyofheroes.com/forum/company-of-heroes-2/company-of-heroes-2-general-discussion/143542-twitch-stream-follow-up-question

we shipped two projects which meant the team was in a near-permanent state of shipping and launching

Jump back to quoted post17 Jan 2015, 22:22 PMZtormi

So what was the purpose of stream?

... We receive a ton of criticism for acting too slowly or taking our time to work on something. To be frank, our team does not make laissez-faire decisions with our development regardless of perception.

Jump back to quoted post17 Jan 2015, 23:03 PMFlamee

This same old whine is also getting a bit tired. Yes, Relic does not live up to some people's expectations but is it really necessary to shout it everywhere possible?

If you don't link the game, take a break or quit. As simple as that. Why do people who are done with the game torchure themselves by reading about the game they dislike nowadays?

Or does it give some satisfaction to be able to say "I told you so"?

Jump back to quoted post17 Jan 2015, 22:51 PMKreatiir

Seriously, I can't even name one good decision they took. Without lieing.

This game man, wtf.

Jump back to quoted post17 Jan 2015, 23:16 PMZupadupadude

I dunno man, seems we're in another community low point, the 3rd low point in this community's history. Everybody's depressed and cynical, tensions are high as shit, etc.

Jump back to quoted post17 Jan 2015, 22:22 PMZtormi

So what was the purpose of stream?

Jump back to quoted post17 Jan 2015, 22:11 PMnigo

by cynthia, about the stream

...We receive a ton of requests. Factions? People want Brits, more Germans, South Pacific Stuff, Canadians, Italians... you name it, we get requests for it...

Jump back to quoted post17 Jan 2015, 22:37 PMKatitof

Following J.R.R Martin leadership, creating hope and hype only to brutally murder it and laugh at us.