Gamer Self Entitlement Syndrome. It’s a long one folks. Heh, long one.

[Sup With That?]

It's a long rambling post. I cried a lot while I wrote it, so much so I had to keep pausing to take deep breaths into my pillow. So please, be nice.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Some of you may be wondering what ‘Gamer Self Entitlement Syndrome’ is, if you’re really stuck for an answer then I’m afraid chances are, you’ve got it.

I’ve always been a free spirit on these forums, I’ve always held true to my own views and demonstrated confidence in my own knowledge and opinions. Lately, however, I’ve been finding it increasingly hard to hold some form of civility to the people who come on here bashing the likes of CA for being ‘money hungry’, ‘greedy’, ‘killing their fan-base’ etc, without actually having a base to stand on with their opinions.

The argumentative standpoint of someone who bashes CA on these forums usually comes from one of these angles, or, dependent on person, all of them:

· Decreasing levels of access to the game files for people who wish to modify them in order to generate their own third party content. A factor which many people attribute to CA generally abandoning their community.

· A lack of a voice for the community and a failure on the part of CA to respond to the outcry regarding issues such as mod tools, uniform editors etc.

· The shifting of long term profit schemes involving the sale of DLC to maintain longer term interest in the product.

I’ll start by stating one simple fact: Product distribution and rules regarding third party content are handled by SEGA. SEGA are the guys who front all of the money for the production of the game, they also completely take over once things go Gold and they have a pretty sweet team of kick-ass lawyers who handle all IP threats.

Sega, like most publishers, have trained an eye on the evolution of the gaming industry as any other publisher has and have witnessed the massive boom in console gaming sales, along with the models being adopted by the likes of Ubisoft, EA and Activision in the downturn. SEGA, however, don’t share the same luxuries as any of those Publishers when it comes to the Total War franchise as it doesn’t have the option to focus mainly on consoles and the general lock-down they have on piracy.

Call it what you will, but this has led to SEGA taking measures to ensure that profit from each game is maximised. At this point I know what you’re thinking: A business operating in a fragile market trying to make money during the single largest economic down-turn of the last century? Un-freaking-believable, I know. So here we start to see the changes on the part of SEGA, various fan sites are warned about content, modding becomes a harder task with each new release and they start to release DLC to fill the community’s new content tummy.

Now I have every respect for the modding community, and I even venture as far as to use some myself from time to time, but It’s wholly unreasonable for you all to have expected that the freedoms enjoyed by the PC gaming community would have lasted forever. Did you really think that publishers were going to allow easy access to the inner workings of their product in order for people to upload mods which (and they do) threaten the integrity of the IP?

One need only look as far as games such as Spore: Spore was pirated 1.7 million times within the first three months of it’s release, can we really blame publishers from desperately trying to turn their attention from PC gaming in general? The ones that are actually stuck with PC IPs find themselves taking desperate measures to limit piracy and yes, these measures do come at the cost of a few thousand people complaining about the involvement of Steam and the limiting/decapitation of the modding community. Modding is largely a thing of the past, a privilege that the PC gaming community enjoyed as a whole, unhindered, for a very long time. The gaming industry is now evolving (like Pokemon)and we need to get onboard because it’s not going to slow down to accommodate people who want to keep it where it is.

Can we please just get behind CA and SEGA and acknowledge the fact that they still make the best games around? I mean, we wouldn't be hanging around these forums if we didn't love the games, would we? Can we stop biting the hand that feeds us and just...hug?

If you read nothing else in this post then read this for I ask you all one thing: Please save your nerd-rage for the zombie apocalypse, let's not be this kid.

Let’s be this kid. I know he's totally eating sand, but still, see the grim determination?

[helmersen]

Good post. +rep

[Hector Barbossa]

Nicely put and i have to say i agree with you i too am sick of all the CA bashing that goes on in the forums of late, i love to mod medieval II total war but having bought Napoleon the lack of any sort of mod tools is not making me angry or annoyed at CA i am just enjoying playing a very good game, if the tools do come out great its a bonus if not well its just one of those things. OH and +Rep to you

[Sup With That?]

Nice to see a quick response, thanks guys.

Sorry to all for the somewhat poor structure of the post at parts. It's late at night and I'm a very tired bunny, just wanted to put this down while it was fresh in my mind.

[helmersen]

Nice to see a quick response, thanks guys.

Sorry to all for the somewhat poor structure of the post at parts. It's late at night and I'm a very tired bunny, just wanted to put this down while it was fresh in my mind.

Nothing wrong with that and I agree. Of course, I think modding is excellent, and I would really, really like to see us having the liberty as we had with Rome, but I understand what you are saying, and I agree

[tropdars]

So you're saying that we should just sit down and shut up and let CA and Sega ruin everything that made Total War awesome in the first place? It's not like we can tell CA to off and go buy a Total War-like game from some other developer. Defending CA's lying and near unbroken silence regarding the uniform editor is abhorrent. How many promised features have to not be delivered until you will stand up and cry foul?

Your whole rambling and aimless post smacks of weak-kneed consumer compliance and it's this attitude that lets companies like SEGA and CA hold us over a barrell and strip away the amount of content we get in exchange for our hard earned money.

Let's not forget Counterstrike. I assume you are too young to remember, but Counterstrike began as a free modification available to people who bought Half-Life. The mod became wildly popular in the late 90s and early 2000s. The brilliant thing was that Valve, the company who made half-life, had these guys who were adding content to their game at no charge to valve and anybody who wanted to play Counterstrike had to also buy a copy of Half-Life putting money directly in valve's pocket. Eventually Valve outright bought counterstrike.

The point is that CA and SEGA (and every other developer for that matter) should be strengthening and promoting the modding community. Weakening it is profoundly counterproductive.

[helmersen]

So you're saying that we should just sit down and shut up and let CA and Sega ruin everything that made Total War awesome in the first place? It's not like we can tell CA to off and go buy a Total War-like game from some other developer. Defending CA's lying and near unbroken silence regarding the uniform editor is abhorrent. How many promised features have to not be delivered until you will stand up and cry foul?

Your whole rambling and aimless post smacks of weak-kneed consumer compliance and it's this attitude that lets companies like SEGA and CA hold us over a barrell and strip away the amount of content we get in exchange for our hard earned money.

Let's not forget Counterstrike. I assume you are too young to remember, but Counterstrike began as a free modification available to people who bought Half-Life. The mod became wildly popular in the late 90s and early 2000s. The brilliant thing was that Valve, the company who made half-life, had these guys who were adding content to their game at no charge to valve and anybody who wanted to play Counterstrike had to also buy a copy of Half-Life putting money directly in valve's pocket. Eventually Valve outright bought counterstrike.

The point is that CA and SEGA (and every other developer for that matter) should be strengthening and promoting the modding community. Weakening it is profoundly counterproductive.

But isn't it much more easy to be hacked these days? Isn't piracy the main concern for these companies?

[tropdars]

Nobody is ever going to stop piracy. Ubisoft's anti piracy method which requires a constant net connection for single player games was eventually defeated. The only sure way to defeat video game piracy is to offer your video game exclusively on a service like onlive.

EDIT: Sup With That, I assumed you were young because your opinion of modding is woefully un-informed. There's no need to post your resume.

[bigfootedfred]

Good post, completely agree.

I do try to remain civil on here but the level of CA bashing is really starting to get to me a little.
People stating hyperbole as fact, such as 'destroying the entire fan base' and CA 'ripping people off' by charging 1.99 for some optional extras..accusations of bribery, blackmail, often all posted as fact.

If it were just one or two, it wouldnt be a problem, but it seems to be a growing trend, a popularity thing almost.
"who can bash CA the most and add as many exaggerated claims into a post as possible" competition.

Hell i had 3 or 4 of these guys attacking me for page after page, when i responded to post calling ETW an 'epic failure, that single handely destroyed CA's entire support', for saying that it wasnt and that i enjoyed it. I even got accused of 'lying', im suprised i wasnt accused of 'working for CA' (yeah i wish!).

[BigB]

But isn't it much more easy to be hacked these days? Isn't piracy the main concern for these companies?

No, piracy isnt the main concern for these companies. The methods they use to stop piracy only stop the casual user from passing it along to someone else. It's kind of like saying door locks are the primary concern for car companies. There are a lot more things in a car to be concerned about. And just like software, car locks only stop the casual person. A locksmith, or car thief, can open a locked car door in less than a minute.

Every game is pirated within days of release, if not sooner. Just like this game. There is debate about whether on not spending money on piracy prevention is even worth the cost. There are plenty of honest people who will still buy a game. I refuse to pirate anything.

As to the rest of the original post, Its missing something important. I criticize this game. I have lots of negative things to say about it, but you have to ask why I do it. I do it because I care. I do it because I love the games this company has produced. I feel that they are going in the wrong direction with their games and I hope that my criticism will be noticed and perhaps give them something to think about.

Looking at it from that perspective, who is more helpful and who is not helpful at all? The person making criticisms hoping to make a difference for the better, or the person who just smiles and says everything is awesome keep doing what you are doing?

People that dont care about the game and the company, dont post anything positive or negative.

[Huberto]

The ones that are actually stuck with PC IPs find themselves taking desperate measures to limit piracy and yes, these measures do come at the cost of a few thousand people complaining about the involvement of Steam and the limiting/decapitation of the modding community. Modding is largely a thing of the past, a privilege that the PC gaming community enjoyed as a whole, unhindered, for a very long time. The gaming industry is now evolving (like Pokemon)and we need to get onboard because it’s not going to slow down to accommodate people who want to keep it where it is.

This is a huge conclusory statement that is lacking hard evidence. Of course there are lots of console games with no mods that are very popular. However at the same time lots PC video game makers continue to do fine selling mod friendly games that they continue to bring to market. Just not TW games for some reason.

Yes, times are tough and that can mean less options for consumers. However, I would need to see several industry sources confirming your views before I begin to embrace the repellent idea that mods in particular are a thing of the past and that perversely we should support the companies that are trying to stamp mods out forever.

If mods die I would my interest in games would drop to almost nil. I'm sure that I'm not alone -- far from it.

[Sir Winston Churchill]

But isn't it much more easy to be hacked these days? Isn't piracy the main concern for these companies?

Just wanted to say Steam does not prevent piracy... at all.

[Sup With That?]

Let's not forget Counterstrike. I assume you are too young to remember...

I'm 25 years old.

I had hoped this would remain on a purely depersonalised (and somewhat humorous) note but it would appear that certain members, such as yourself, are totally incapable of engaging in mature discussion without it degrading to petty one-upmanship in the form of implied insults.

Should anyone else like to dismiss my opinions based on assumptions of age and status: I'm a 25 year old writer with a Masters in political science, I currently work with a newspaper local to the Lanarkshire area. Previous employment includes: The Scottish Sun, The Daily Mail and an assortment of small localised magazines and websites.

Now that's sorted, can we have a mature discussion, pretty please?

The point is that CA and SEGA (and every other developer for that matter) should be strengthening and promoting the modding community. Weakening it is profoundly counterproductive.

No sir, quite the opposite. I'll forgive your apparent lack of knowledge of the gaming idustry, or I'll simply assume you're looking at the past through rose tinted spectacles. Let's look at this on a barebones level: The changes would not be getting made if it was 'profoundly counterproductive' to do so. Publishers are in the game of making money, making money so they can make more games to an increasingly higher standard. Modding itself is counterproductive to that whole model, hence it's current limitation.

[BigB]

Let's not forget Counterstrike. I assume you are too young to remember, but Counterstrike began as a free modification available to people who bought Half-Life. The mod became wildly popular in the late 90s and early 2000s. The brilliant thing was that Valve, the company who made half-life, had these guys who were adding content to their game at no charge to valve and anybody who wanted to play Counterstrike had to also buy a copy of Half-Life putting money directly in valve's pocket. Eventually Valve outright bought counterstrike.

The point is that CA and SEGA (and every other developer for that matter) should be strengthening and promoting the modding community. Weakening it is profoundly counterproductive.

Counterstrike was released in 1999, 11 years ago. I agree 100%. Modding only strengthens any game. I still play Med2 and recommend it to other people to buy and play because of all the mods. The more mods available, the more attractive the base game is, the more attention it gets, and the more attention the company gets.

Pirates of the Burning Sea saved a lot of development money by having players create ship models and other things for them, for free.

Making games easy to mod is not some old fashioned gimmick that doesnt work in todays modern world. Its still a great idea. It does have some downsides though. It does cost more money to develop an easy to mod game and causes support issues. It may also hurt sales of your next big game if everyone is still playing mods of the old one. I suspect the latter reason is whats going on here.

[tropdars]

Oh please...

[Kracker Jack'D]

Customer relations

1. Stay in contact with customers on a regular basis. Customers don’t want to feel abandoned.
2. Create a customer focus group by inviting 10 to 20 loyal customers to meet regularly. Alternatively, send out a monthly survey to this group asking for ideas and input on how to improve your customer service. Give them a reward. Pay them, give them a gift certificate or send them free product.
3. Have a website that is easy to navigate. Add a frequently asked questions (FAQ) page and explain anything that might confuse your customers or visitors.
4. Resolve customer complaints quickly and completely. Answer all email and phone calls within a few hours. This will show your customers you really care about them.
5. Don’t make your customers or visitors hunt for your contact information. Make it easy for them to contact you. Offer as many contact methods as possible. Hyperlink all your email addresses so they don’t have to find or type it. Offer a toll-free number.
6. If you have strategic alliances or employees, make sure they are familiar with your customer service policy. Give your employees bonuses or incentives to practice excellent customer service. Tell employees to be flexible with each individual customer, because each one has different concerns, needs and wants.
7. Give your customers more than they expect. Send thank you gifts to long time customers. Email them greeting cards on holidays or birthdays if you have their address or online cards if you only have their email address and name. Give bonuses to your customers who make a big purchase or multiple purchases.
8. Phrases such as "You’re welcome", "Please" and "Thank you" can never be over used. Be polite no matter what. Admit and apologize for mistakes quickly and make it up to them in BIG ways if you want them to continue being a customer.
9. Reward in points – give customers a point for every dollar they spend. Set up a points-earned sheet and email the customer an update monthly. If they send you a referral they get 10 points, if they buy something add 10 more points, etc.
10. If your business is local, invite customers to your office for lunches, parties, barbecues, dances, seminars or other special events.

So does C.A address some of these points adequately? some of the points may not apply of course but these are "basic" customer relation points. are you happy? or do you really expect more?

In my experience:
1. not really
2. Don't think they have
3. Yes
4. Not that I have seen
5. Never had need to contact them. But I'm sure they have an email if I needed too, not that they would answer.
6. Don't know
7. Hahahaha. NO.
8. nope
9. nope
10. Not applicable

I'm relatively happy, but that has nothing to do with CA. And yes, I do expect more.

[TommyAtkins]

In my experience:
1. not really
2. Don't think they have
3. Yes
4. Not that I have seen
5. Never had need to contact them. But I'm sure they have an email if I needed too, not that they would answer.
6. Don't know
7. Hahahaha. NO.
8. nope
9. nope
10. Not applicable

I'm relatively happy, but that has nothing to do with CA. And yes, I do expect more.

IIRC,
1. CA reps did appear on these forums sporadically in the months leading up to the release of NTW. Can't recall having seen any since, though.
2. Didn't they do something were they invited a dozen or so community members to play the NTW beta or something? I thought this happened, but I may be confusing it with something else....
7. and 8. I'm normally pretty lenient as far as allowing CA to make mistakes, but I have to fault them for the miscommunication regarding the uniform editor. They need to sort that out.
9. Only possible if they distributed their own products (which would at least shut up the Steam-haters).
10. Again, I recall CA having invited community members to a few beta previews in several cities. Too tired to search for the thread, though....

[Sup With That?]

Customer relations

"A man has honour if he holds himself to an ideal of conduct even though it is inconvenient, unprofitable, or dangerous to do so".

One of my favourite sayings, so what does it have to do in this context addressing the honourable O.P.

As the buying public.. 'the customer".. nobody has to just "stay quiet" and take what the developers dish out surely... in order to improve a product, an outlet should always be in place to address customer concerns.

Here are 10 basic ways to improve customer relations... you have to ask yourself firstly- does any of these points apply to C.A.? and if so which are not being met!

Lets get the ball rolling though as I think the first point very important myself .. is this being addressed adequately enough? This really does beg the question.

and all that.

1. Stay in contact with customers on a regular basis. Customers don’t want to feel abandoned.
2. Create a customer focus group by inviting 10 to 20 loyal customers to meet regularly. Alternatively, send out a monthly survey to this group asking for ideas and input on how to improve your customer service. Give them a reward. Pay them, give them a gift certificate or send them free product.
3. Have a website that is easy to navigate. Add a frequently asked questions (FAQ) page and explain anything that might confuse your customers or visitors.
4. Resolve customer complaints quickly and completely. Answer all email and phone calls within a few hours. This will show your customers you really care about them.
5. Don’t make your customers or visitors hunt for your contact information. Make it easy for them to contact you. Offer as many contact methods as possible. Hyperlink all your email addresses so they don’t have to find or type it. Offer a toll-free number.
6. If you have strategic alliances or employees, make sure they are familiar with your customer service policy. Give your employees bonuses or incentives to practice excellent customer service. Tell employees to be flexible with each individual customer, because each one has different concerns, needs and wants.
7. Give your customers more than they expect. Send thank you gifts to long time customers. Email them greeting cards on holidays or birthdays if you have their address or online cards if you only have their email address and name. Give bonuses to your customers who make a big purchase or multiple purchases.
8. Phrases such as "You’re welcome", "Please" and "Thank you" can never be over used. Be polite no matter what. Admit and apologize for mistakes quickly and make it up to them in BIG ways if you want them to continue being a customer.
9. Reward in points – give customers a point for every dollar they spend. Set up a points-earned sheet and email the customer an update monthly. If they send you a referral they get 10 points, if they buy something add 10 more points, etc.
10. If your business is local, invite customers to your office for lunches, parties, barbecues, dances, seminars or other special events.

So does C.A address some of these points adequately? some of the points may not apply of course but these are "basic" customer relation points. are you happy? or do you really expect more?

Regards
Graham

Pity I repped you earlier Graham or I would be giving you more now! Ruddy good show, old stick! (Sorry it's infectious).

I find myself agreeing with every one of those ten points but at the same time I feel like very few of them can realistically be implemented in the case of CA. I agree one hundred percent, however, that CA need to make far more of an effort to engage their demograph/dedicated fan base in discussion more often. Efforts could include a more active presense on forums such as these, though I'm led to understand they maintain a good show on their own forum.

To clear the air: At no point have I implied anyone has to stay quiet in any way, I simply ask that they don't make baseless accusations toward CA when SEGA are actually responsible for the decision making in most cases. A lot of people have shot off about how I'm telling them to shut up when I'm simply saying they should divert their attention to the publisher instead.

In most cases with the gaming industry the publisher is to blame. I know it's a grossly exaggerated sweeping statement, but in my experience it's true.

[Kracker Jack'D]

Give it to me and I'll make sure he gets it

[Town Watch]

I find myself agreeing with every one of those ten points but at the same time I feel like very few of them can realistically be implemented in the case of CA. I agree one hundred percent, however, that CA need to make far more of an effort to engage their demograph/dedicated fan base in discussion more often. Efforts could include a more active presense on forums such as these, though I'm led to understand they maintain a good show on their own forum.

Well, there's that online store that paradox interactive sells its games on, Gamersgate, they have a system which gives you blue coins for every purchased, and you can use that credit to get more games/DLC/concent... You can basically just write game reviews and guides for games purchased from there, and you gain credit that way too. Not to mention they added a new payment method for Finnish customers. That's some good customer service there I'd say!