Is it toxicity/negativity, or morale?

[Xenithos]

We are at the turning point of development and full release of Dirty Bomb. Among so many surprising turns in the market, royale modes, Overwatch, etc… as well as so many failures: Battleborn, Paladins (half a failure) the pretty much full death of Lawbreakers, it hurts me to realize for that an objective team based shooter originally pitched as a game to kick in the teeth of those interested in learning the ropes may be losing it’s flavor because of the obvious goals of success… that is also certainly not guaranteed. I also wonder if the impact of where we’re at in DB is swaying our mood in general.

And honestly is it wrong of me to worry? Is it wrong of me to think that any of the developer’s promises and original intentions are slowly being put on the backboard? Is it wrong of me to have sinking morale at the most pivotal moment of whether or not DB will sink or rocket upwards to stay?

And furthermore, ARE we all reacting to this incorrectly? And is it because of something else? Is this really toxicity? Or is this a loss of morale? Or am I just imagining things?

Let’s discuss… And full disclosure to Splash Damage, this is my favorite game, and I want it, with you, to succeed. I think that you made an incredibly fun game.

[Xenithos]

One last thing, about the title. I absolutely know we have a more toxic community than we did a year ago. I’m not debating that, I think we may have been infected with some CS:GO case junkies.

I’m just more asking, is it really expected of us to not have future questions of DB, and hope questions?

[GatoCommodore]

Some people just cant handle harmless banter and call it cancer or toxic.
As long as SD dont go full 1984 Big Brother like blizzard i think its okay.

I do agree that we got a flood of CSGO players these few months

story time.
there is this one guy who just really easy to get butthurt from getting killed over and over again by me (because hes playing medic, of course i kill medic first before killing everyone else)

then this guy ask me to 1v1 me on the bridge on bridge map

he swaps to vasilli, used the heartbeat sensor to spot and kill me before i finished climbing the stair.

i backtrack the stair and throw my skyhammer marker up to the bridge
he dies and accuse me of wallhacking.

if you ask me, that guy is asking to get trolled like that because hes not honoring his promise of 1v1 no ability.

[Eox]

To be honest, I don’t consider DB’s have become that kind of game that would fit more on casual players really. I don’t even know what that tought came from. If you compare DB to most of those successful FPS games in the market, it is obvious that DB put much more the accent on personnal skill than any of those. The only thing that changes, or at least the only thing those changes are heading towards, is less issues with frustration. That’s technically a good thing, though SD didn’t manage to nail down some of those points yet.

DB was never too much of a complicated game to grasp at first if you aren’t new to FPS games, and if anything the overall skill required to play DB didn’t move too much. DB is also very punishing for beginners if they don’t play between themselves, as they would get mauled over and over again by better players, sometimes in a confusing and frustrating fashion. No amounts of shotguns are going to save you from those veterans who are able to nail headshots in a consistant way, despite those being considered as a crutch. Meanwhile games such as OW gladly accepts autoaim and assisted aiming weapons as legit ways of killing.

…Am I off topic ?

Anyway, as for the morale, we all get fed up at one point. People wants DB to be successful, and I can definitely know how seeing SD struggling with balance sometimes can be frustrating and scary. The thing is, as I said in that thread about negativity, is that being negative or outright toxic about it will just make things worse. We just have to bear with it, keep the feedback flowing as much as possible, raising the awareness on issues that sounds important (this is part of feedback actually) and just move with the flow.

[emjot]

SD should call Fatal1ty (for sake of ETQW) and ask him about the game (DB), feedback, maybe some stream. That would promote DB-Competitive side af.

For those who don’t know who Fatal1ty is, shame on you.

[n-x]

@emjot said:
SD should call Fata1ity (for sake of ETQW) and ask him about the game (DB), feedback, maybe some stream. That would promote DB-Competitive side af.

For those who don’t know who Fata1ity is, shame on you.

Fatal1ty

[emjot]

@n-x said:

@emjot said:
SD should call Fata1ity (for sake of ETQW) and ask him about the game (DB), feedback, maybe some stream. That would promote DB-Competitive side af.

For those who don’t know who Fata1ity is, shame on you.

Fatal1ty

Damn me, shame, shame, shame.

[GatoCommodore]

As long as SD dont go this path and start stalking everybody

[stayfreshshoe]

I think a shift now is extremely important. As we get ever closer to the 1.0 release there will be a time when a big flood of new players will come. If they get hit with a load of negativity, the marketing invested will be wasted and a fantastic opportunity would have passed us by.

Thank you for starting this thread. I’ve seen quite a few topics like this be discussed recently and they all share the same message.

Dirty Bomb can be a great place to have fun and make friends. With a little bit of patience and consideration from all of us, it can consistently be this, which is only help the game grow.

[Da_Mummy]

As long as DB doesn’t become CSGO 2.0 communitywise it will always be an upside or me to prefer it.
But also keep in mind that with a flood of new players come Cheaters, Scammers (if the whole weapon skin thing will stay) and your obligetory Russian screamer kid. So don’t expect DB to stay the little cosy game that it once was.

[bgyoshi]

@stayfreshshoe said:
If they get hit with a load of negativity, the marketing invested will be wasted and a fantastic opportunity would have passed us by.

You said the very words I’ve been looking for!

[pumpkinmeerkat]

Morale.

Seems like weapon switching revamp and EV collision fix won’t be ready for 1.0. I would consider Merc limits an essential feature for ranked that doesn’t seem like it will make into the game any time soon. Balance and gameplay changes in most recent update were odd and largely contrary to player feedback. I struggle to understand how the change to view-kick in particular made it through play testing.

Additional explanation for more controversial changes and faster follow-up with adjustments and tweaks would be much appreciated. Especially when the game fully releases and the aim is to attract and retain as many players as possible.

[Meerkats]

@emjot said:
SD should call Fatal1ty (for sake of ETQW) and ask him about the game (DB), feedback, maybe some stream. That would promote DB-Competitive side af.

For those who don’t know who Fatal1ty is, shame on you.
Fatal1ty did stream. Hollywood took him under his wings. Don’t know if it was new or old Hollywood. Mained PDP Vassili.

He was… not good. Fucking broke my heart.

Fatal1ty also said he liked Dirty Bomb, but after the first few days, his enthusiasm kinda dwindled and he stopped playing within maybe 20 days, so honestly, I don’t think he cared much for Dirty Bomb. Think about it: a guy known for winning Quake tournaments staying as far away as possible from the frontlines? Yeah, I don’t think he enjoyed playing.

That said, he was also very new to streaming at the time, so who knows. Maybe he stopped so he could play something that would get him more viewers ( he streams PUBG now ).

Yes, I have always been active in Dirty Bomb’s twitch community since… two weeks before first batch of Alienware keys.

@Xenithos said:
One last thing, about the title. I absolutely know we have a more toxic community than we did a year ago. I’m not debating that, I think we may have been infected with some CS:GO case junkies.

I’m just more asking, is it really expected of us to not have future questions of DB, and hope questions?
To veterans attracted to what Dirty Bomb was supposed to be, the changes are indicative of what is likely a shift in mentality within Splash Damage. Despite our prior investment, monetary and otherwise, Splash Damage seems to writing off our former good will.

Paragon is now closing. I know a guy who plays and enjoys Paragon. He’s been struck hard and is bitter. But I think EPIC handled Paragon’s closure pretty well relative to how poorly these things typically go down in this industry. Their offer to refund players is a positive step toward triaging resentment and a graceful acknowledgement toward need for closure.

So at the very least, I think Splash Damage owes it to us to inform us whether they even want us around anymore. If their intent is to shift toward something more like Paladins or whatever ( tbh, they probably want in on that sweet PUBG money ), announce those changes in an actual roadmap containing actual details, not in videos put out five days before live. Do tryhards still have a place in that roadmap?

To Splash Damage: Regarding toxicity, well, this toxicity didn’t emerge out of thin air. Don’t push this entirely on us. This is happening in response to your actions. How we proceed, regardless of right or wrong, can be influenced by your actions but ultimately isn’t up to you.

I also want to point out that I had a draft for a topic for how Nuclear Winter was the best event to date, but right after, Splash Damage pushed their dumb chain Fragger nerfs amongst other questionable changes ( Thunder buff lolololololol ).

[Xenithos]

@bgyoshi said:

@stayfreshshoe said:
If they get hit with a load of negativity, the marketing invested will be wasted and a fantastic opportunity would have passed us by.
You said the very words I’ve been looking for!
Wellllll then. If they get their teeth kicked in is that negative?

[K1X455]

Something along the lines of toxicity, how is sportsmanship in CMM doing?

I think it’s a breeding ground for rage quitters.

“If in a losing match, I won’t be part of the losing team.” mentality is prevalent.

It’s really bad in ranked as well.

[GatoCommodore]

SD please dont become another blizzard big brother 1984

the guy is banned because he picks Torb in ranked

just let that sink in for a moment, there is a developer out there that bans people because they pick his favourite main in solo competitive.

[K1X455]

@GatoCommodore said:

the guy is banned because he picks Torb in ranked

just let that sink in for a moment, there is a developer out there that bans people because they pick his favourite main in solo competitive.

It’s a good thing I don’t main a particular merc, but rather a type of merc (Objective Specialist, Fire Support, Medic). I wonder if I could become very annoying if I get to kill Rhino 5x in a row…

EDIT:
I just killed a Rhino 7x in a row. Phat XP there… I just hope he doesn’t report me for Dominating him and contributing to my Killing Spree and Unstoppable

[Eox]

@GatoCommodore said:
SD please dont become another blizzard big brother 1984

the guy is banned because he picks Torb in ranked

just let that sink in for a moment, there is a developer out there that bans people because they pick his favourite main in solo competitive.

This is a totally different situation and problem. The OW community is well know for their extreme toxicity and report abuse. Considering that the OW support only acts if you get massively reported, those are bound to happen. It is safe to consider that it’ll not happen with SD. Not anytime soon at least.

[K1X455]

@EOX, I think the point was, he was asked to play something else and he refused to cooperate. He had his reasons. In that game, he mains. I think, he guarantees his performance if he plays his main. And the issue is, how can Blizzard fault a player who cannot flex to team requests?

[Nail]

unsure how discussing Blizzard crap anyway affects Dirty Bomb other than posing a wild “what if” scenario that isn’t relevant