Email campaign to Dice

[MNToothpick]

Lonely internet campaign to get Dice to support BF2142 underway.

http://forums.easports.com/mboards/thread.jspa?threadID=334244&tstart=15

Eric9787, as he is known on the Battlefield2142 forums, began a lonely email campaign to get DICE to continue improving its Battlefield 2142 game.

Eric9787 described himself as an avid BF2 & BF2142 gamer who wants to see patches and updates continue to come out for the series. In his email of February 3, 2008, Eric9787 asked, “Can I, as a gamer and as an owner of BF2142, expect further expansion of the game as far as patches, support(against cheaters & illegal ranked servers), free maps & most importantly purchasable booster packs?”

According to information available on the Battlefield2142 forums, in an emailed response on February 5, 2008, DICE replied to Eric9787 “Although we cannot disclose any information about upcoming Updates and expansions at this point in time we are still working on making sure you as a player get the best possible experience when playing Battlefield 2142 and Battlefield 2.”

The response was less than satisfying to some forum trolls. XXBigBacon wrote, “What did you expect?? The response is exa(c)tly what I would have expected to get.” XXBIGBACON further wrote, “I wouldn't hold my breath. Notice they added BF2 in there as well and we all know BF2 has been supportless for awhile now.”

Others took an even bleaker view, as Morgile wrote “You can pretty much bet that no expansions are gonna come out for 2142. If they were, we'd have heard about it by now--we've heard about bad company, right?”

Despite this Eric9787 sent a second email to DICE and then a third. Eventually, Eric9789 received another response from DICE on March 4, 2008, “Thank you for your email and we are pleased that you enjoy playing our Battlefield titles. We also understand the frustrations of the community when it comes to new content and update announcements, unfortunately we can not announce content or updates to the community until we are fully aware that we will be able to deliver one and what that will include.”

Eric9787 decided to send another email again asking for further clarification. Refusing to give up, Eric9787 explained his actions, “Since it seems their information concerning Updates and Expansions is confidential until they announce on battlefield.com then my focus now is bringing communication skills to both sides of the group and making us players/consumers have a better data line with DICE. This is the only way to make things better.”

But the ball is still entirely in the hands of DICE. Will they support further expansion? For the full background on this story or to find out where you can send emails, you can read the posts here:

http://forums.easports.com/mboards/thread.jspa?threadID=334244&tstart=15

[=98=]

BF3 is coming, BF:H is coming, BF:BC is coming. The days of BF2/2142 support are over, and EA will not release anything as any new content couild cause even more problems they would have to fix.

It's just not economically feasible to work on free content when you could be putting that labor towards new series in the franchise.

[MNToothpick]

Yeah but the thing is I would probably pay another $10 for a few patch fixes and in a new booster pack. Just get rid of the worst problems, you know like the wall glitching on Fall of Berlin, the Sentry thru the walls in titan corridors, and a couple of other glitches and a few other things. Give me 10 new unlocks and 3 maps.

You know if you bundled the new patch with a booster pack, it could pay for itself. Plus EA has like $2 billion to throw around on acquisitions, so they aren't exactly cash starved.

As for BF:H since it is free, I will probably play it. But it only has 3 classes. As for BF:BC, won't buy a console, so I will be missing it.

BF3 is Vista only. Not going to upgrade for a while anyway. So, for those of us who just like a good game, like 2142, asking for support is not too much.

[=98=]

BF3 hasn't even been officially concerned, so any details around that are speculation.

Now, you say you'd pay $10/£5, but i doubt many people would. Then, you've split the game into 2 factions. Bad.
They would probably make a loss if they made a patch/expansion now for $10/£5 because they have to pay a group of people to design and extensively beta test anything new.

Companies don't just have $2billion to throw around. Buy a few shares in EA or DICE and you'll know that.

This is business. They are out there to make a profit, not entertain you without some kind of benefit to them.

[Corkum]

He does speak the truth. Disappointing though it may be.

[Minmaster]

if some of these issues were reasonably "fixable" they would already have fixed it in one of the patches. the problems that still remain after all the patches we had are likely just too hard to fix and not worth it for them. things like entering buildings, EU transport bug, sentry shooting through titan walls are all issues that would have been fixed if reasonably possible, imo. therefore you gotta assume these bugs are linked to issues that lie at the foundations of the game and would be very tough and tricky to fix w/o turning the game upside down. do they have time and resource to do this? not really. do they want to? hell no. like someone said, they have a full plate of games coming out soon. however, if BF3 suffers with similar shoddy programming with bugs/glitches and bad support, i will then give up on DICE and their BF franchise. if 2142 didn't teach them some lessons and was not a growing pain for the better, then i really don't see why gamers should keep supporting them.

do you know how bad of a PR they would get if they release a patch/fix masqueraded as a expansion and make people pay money for it? it's not like their reputation regarding support is good, they can't jeopardize it more by doing such a bonehead move. to me, the problems that remain are not really a game breaker, i can still play the game and enjoy it. the only problem i have with the game now would have to be stability; servers crashing all the time and master server connection being flaky is just not fun. i say fix these issues before fixing bugs and glitches.

ultimately, it comes down to your opinion on whether you think this is an acceptable game product in its current state. some would say at least fix things that one would at least have expected in any other game. but others think the game is fine at its current state and they don't owe us any more fixes/improvements. personally, i think i'm in the middle of those 2 camps. i can accept most issues the game has except stability/connection issues, but then i think about bugs like EU transport right gun shooting blanks and wonder: would i let it pass i bought a new game and found that it shoots blanks? probably not, i would have expected the gun to work from the very beginning and even if not, 2 years is a reasonably plenty of time to address the issue. but BF gets a pass more or less, and that's the truth. we give this game so much leeway because its BF and there's no other alternative.

[MNToothpick]

Well, here's the point, people are writing emails to Dice hoping that they will release a fix. Of course they should fix the game if they can for free. They have already released a patches for free and should continue to do so.

What I was trying to suggest was that if they fix the current game, they can release a booster pack and make money on the backside because the game will have increased "lastability". Lastability is currently the only real test for MMO/FPS. There are a lot of these games coming out all the time and the competition has to be there. Now, I prefer BF to the others. But it doesn't mean I do not want it to be better.

A boosterpack would be nice. The point is that there is still money to be made on the franchise at the BF2142/BF2 phase if they fix the problems.

Now, I think this interview from a long time ago is interesting, because here you have a programmer saying that when he finished the game, he felt he needed to add 146 things to it. And guess what- he did. (Skip to 7:27 into interview instead of watching full 1/2 hour).

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOE2N60sBq8[/media]

Now I know that this seems dated, it being from 1984 and all, but the point is quality is still important and I personally feel that Dice/Ea have the technical skills to achieve a less buggy version and could expand the idea more.

Anyway, some people are trying to write emails in the small hope it will make a difference.

[Minmaster]

there's no incentive to fix the game at this point. it brings in no new revenue for them. and i don't know if lastability is in their best interest. when their next game comes out, they need everyone to migrate to the new game and leave the old one behind. they are just doing business, and the bottom line is $$$, not being nice to customers beyond what's the industry standard.

[MNToothpick]

According to a paper on DIGRA, "Because Players Pay: The Business Model Influence on MMOG Design" by Alves, Reis Tiago and Roque, Licinio (2007):

"A MMOG is meant to be played by the largest number of players,
through the longest period of time possible. This fact
creates a whole set of new challenges for the game design,
new technological problems and new forms to operate the
business; and all this to promote two things – player base
and game sustainability. It is a battle fought in three fronts:
• Game play longevity - the game must be fun to
play for a long time;
• Infrastructure scalability - a good MMOG system
is expected to deal with several thousands of
simultaneous users;
• Economic sustainability - the business must
generate income to support the continuous costs of
running a MMOG;"

What you are suggesting is that the third prong is the issue. If it is the issue, then you must ask yourself why? The third prong is largely the responsibility of the corporation. Therefore, if EA is engaging in a business model which does not support the creation of additional boosters or patch fixes, then EA is making a strategic mistake. Part of the reason that EA is moving towards the BF:H model is a necessary correction. Nevertheless, the old model worked well enough for BF2 which had several booster packs.

Booster packs and patches send a message to players that EA/DICE value their relationship with the players. It is critical that they continue to support their products. It is imperative that given the fact that many people will not be upgrading to VISTA that the "legacy titles" be supported.

Notwithstanding that, the game will also succeed or fail based upon its ability to remain desirable and not get old. Part of this is based upon the ability of the company to create new challenges (new maps, new awards).

Moreover, that will demonstrate to players that they are valued members of the community and that there time and energy into playing and supporting the game will be rewarded.

The alternative is to pursue a policy which EA itself has been critical of. Here's what John Riccitiello, EA's CEO, said:

"For the most part, the industry has been rinse-and-repeat. There's been lots of product that looked like last year's product, that looked a lot like the year before."

This is a chance to demonstrate EA/DICE is not simply going to rinse and repeat BF2 with BF3 and is committed to fostering the kinds of relationships which will ultimately prove economically wise.

BF2142 was very UNLIKE other BF titles and BF makes a point of trying to distinguish itself. It has a loyal fanbase. Continuing to invest in patches and booster packs is one key way to increase longevity and continued support.

But hey, I could debate these points all day. All I'm trying to say is that it takes 2 seconds to send an email to Dice and asked for some support.

[OriJuice]

As far as BF is concerned I believe they should treat it as Microsoft did with AOE2. They supported Multi player on the game for quite a few years until the fanbase fell to the minimum, but they still had a wonderful TCP/IP option. EA had the right idea with hosted servers from companies, this way we know BF will remain active for many years to come; as for patches however, they will eventually shift focus from it. Whenever they patch one thing they mess up another, thus the game needs continuous patching. They are counting for the BF2142 players to move on to BF:BC or whatever other game they are coming out with.

While not an especially smart idea, it's proposed on a business scale and it is what makes them money. While I would love to see continued patches and expansions for the game, I don't think it's realistic to see it.

[Minmaster]

i'd like to add to my previous post something i forgot; they should really fix the custom saved kits at least, because this was something the community asked for a long time, and they failed miserably after all the high hope of them finally listening to the community.

[Basil.]

look to bf as a old car, there only so much work you can do to it before the fixes
out way the coast. you just junk it and get a new one. Let just hope they take what they learned from bf2-2142 and not make the same mistakes in bf3. If they do this crap in bf3 it will be the end of bf:cry:

[MNToothpick]

I drive an old car. The handle on the driver's side door broke off and now I have to unroll the window to open the door every time I want to get out. It still runs, but its not pretty. BF2142 is not the prettiest game I've ever played but it is extremely fun. I'm willing to roll down a window for the game, but it would still be nice to see it improved. Seriously, I've tried TF2, CS:S, etc...it's just not the same. Plus, I miss Fall of Berlin. It's been overrun by wall glitchers. I know I will probably never see everything I could hope for in the game, but I can still dream.

http://1541.freehostia.com/1541wishlist.html

Anyway, here ARE TWO form letters to choose from:

TO: info@dice.se
cc: Colin.Clarke@dice.se
cc: patrick.soderlund@dice.se

Dear DICE,

I am very interested in learning about any possible expansion packs in Battlefield 2142. There has been a lot of discussion about possible expansion packs in the Battlefield 2142 series on the forums and many people would be interested in Battlefield 2142 patches and booster packs.

I own Battlefield 2142 as well as Northern Strike. I have supported the Battlefield series since 1942 and own BF1942, RTR, SWWII, BFV, BF2 Complete Collection. I am excited about new products but also want to see the game I enjoy playing supported more. I expect BF2142 to be improved and supported.

As a gamer, I really enjoy playing BF2142. The game is very unique and provides hours of quality entertainment for me. It is a relaxing and enjoyable past time which provides my friends and I with a lot of entertainment. We even have a fan site for 2142.

It would be great if we could get a commitment about upcoming booster packs and/or patches.


Sincerely,


or you can go with Eric's latest format:

To: Diceinfo@ea.com

DICE,

I am writing in support of more patches and boosters for BF2142. Though I completely understand your points and I do respect them, I do believe the communication between DICE and the consumers has been cut. For instance, so far e- mails have been the only communication. The EA Forums aren't watched by DICE Members, from what we can tell, and therefore you aren't receiving the true feedback of the community. Is there a way DICE Members could enter the EA Forums for BF2142 to see the true feedback and help with problems with the game and such. Support for the game has basically been placed in the Forum Trolls Hands as far as helping people install the game, and fixing bugs in the game. I think it would be far more advantageous for the BF2142 Community if DICE Members either entered and added to the EA Forums BF2142 Community or if DICE made a forum on their own website that consumers can use to tell you how we truly feel. I hope for a speedy response and hopefully the communication line between DICE and the Consumers can be brought to a level so high that it's like we are in a conference room together.

Very Truly Yours,

[sempf]

why not let people work together and fix things(like glitching into buildings) as we know these bug exist and we sometimes know how(see/discover). then repair the bugs and send the fix to dice. maybe they will accept it if it only fixes bugs. and tell them they should make a new expansion pack with new maps and wapons. and maybe that they should make all maps playeble for everyone but the wapons only for the booster pack owners.

[=98=]

why not let people work together and fix things(like glitching into buildings) as we know these bug exist and we sometimes know how(see/discover). then repair the bugs and send the fix to dice. maybe they will accept it if it only fixes bugs. and tell them they should make a new expansion pack with new maps and weapons. and maybe that they should make all maps playeble for everyone but the weapons only for the booster pack owners.

You are not allowed to dissect the game code and modify it. Plus, even then it's going to take time and money getting it through EA's QA department.

As much as it would be nice to see an expansion, it ain't going to happen people.