First Things First

[ToastedSarnie]

@GammaX6 I'm here, sort of! It's 7.30 am & have had a crazy few days home-wise & feel I've been hypno-shroomed through not enough sleep!! I share the frustration of @spIash_damage in not hearing info about overall performance / technical fixes, but think you're right about different departments working on different game elements & we're just hearing about one part of things that are changing. Really hoping there's a performance-related patch as well - there were problems to start with & since launch for me the increase in lag has been so horrible, it's hard to assess anything! Have not been in BFN much as a result. I confess I can't quite get my head around some of the character balance changes either. I know PopCap is a relatively small company & think it's quite likely they've been put under a lot of pressure a) to get the game out to original deadlines & b) to fix the things people are making the most noise about (which are not necessarily the things further analysis might show need adjusting)
I'm going to try to keep playing fairly regularly to offer what little input I can & would urge all PvZ veterans to do the same, if they can stand it! All of you guys & gals have a lot of game experience, not just in PvZ & your feedback is waaay more valuable than new players & mine for the sake of the franchise we love 🌻🌵🧟‍♀️🧟‍♂️

[GammaX6]

@delete180 I'm just trying to sympathize with the developers since they have too many things on their plate already.

"@GammaX6 let me turn bad guy there and say why should i care about how many people workin on game and what budget they have?

I am a consumer. And i should care about other things. 

1) I want developers to give me enough info about product, so i deside to buy or not to buy.

2) If i buy this game. I want to get WORKING product with appropriate balance and fair amound of content. "

Yes, you are a consumer. And yes, you are free to speak your mind. I won't tell people to stop doing that at all.

But there are strange things about this game:

• It got released out of nowhere... no trailers, no hype, nothing.
• They haven't marketed it well.
• There are poor design choices and broken things in the game.

This leads me to believe that EA pressured PopCap to release the game at its current unfinished state and fix it later. That is because holidays are upon us and this game is better sold during that period. Also, it has to do with EA's earnings as well. 

I repeat, I'm saying all that because I sympathize with the developers who actually made/coded the game and designed it. I want them to know that there are players who care about their efforts and hope them the best. I think most of the dislike they receive is due to decisions out of their hands. I just dislike the "decision to release the game at its current state." And I think EA should give players free stuff for early adaptors (founders or not) until the crash-rates/freezes are solved completely.

But hey, I also sympathize with you as well. You bought the game, you couldn't run it. So, I don't mind getting no new content if the game is working for all players, as I've mentioned in previous replies.

Wish you all the best! 

[GammaX6]

@ToastedSarnie Glad to see you back! We need your healing replies and XPs. We're all at 5 HP left xD

Get well! If you need someone to revive you xD we're here for you...

[ToastedSarnie]

@GammaX6 Aww! Gimme another pot of coffee & I'll be on the case! 😂

[spIash_damage]

@GammaX6 You're not the only one who cares about developers?  I used to really enjoy your posts but to act like you're the only one who cares... 🙄. Condescending, much!

As CONSUMERS .... we expect to buy a bike and the bike work.  If it's food we're buying, we want it fresh/not rotten... if we buy a vehicle we don't want it to break down.  When we buy a game, it's game mechanics that we expect to be correct.  These days, we expect balancing issues to arise but the mechanics are BROKEN BAD.  Fix mechanics and game essentials first.

As for Popcap or EA staff, some of us have formed friendships with them and they VALUE our constructive feedback.  We don't have to "kiss up" to them with all of our answers and in fact, constructive criticism is the only way to HELP DEVS retain a community.

I keep trying to remember you from GW2 and GW1 but am struggling?

EDIT:  furthermore - if we criticize something, we're not griping to developers that have no hand in decision making; we're addressing those who are responsible... if we say devs and its content creators to blame... cool. We don't care who or what title makes decisions... we just don't agree with the person responsible.

[shurikeninja]

I'm confused.. why did the aiming change so much. Feels terrible to aim on Console compared to the absolutely stellar GW2 that felt and played like a Triple A game. BFN looks like a Triple A game, but it doesn't play like one. These issues will eventually be resolved though, so hang tight. They're not the best when it comes to balancing (space station, sunflower, engineer) either.

[Iron_Guard8]

I wanted to add that while I'm generally positive about the series and this current game, there's no question there are serious problems that need to be addressed. Balance is indeed important but being able to actually play the game, and have the game run properly on all platforms for all users is crucial. I know different teams work on different parts and balancing is easier than core engine work, but that core engine work needs to be improved as in some cases this will really help with some of the balance issues in the first place. I've said it before and I'll say it again, I love the game but it feels like it should have been held back to have a more stable and solid release.

[GraveledStoopid]

As it has been stated many times throughout this thread, many people take place in creative input when developing a game. Just stinks because this is the first game in the series that literally feels like 30 people who had never played the series and all had different ideas of how and why changes should be made. 

Great games play as one. Fluid. This game has far too many ideas and changes in different directions. Someone needs to grab hold of the reigns and give it direction, preferably someone who has been playing the series since release. 🤙

[GammaX6]

@spIash_damage 

"@GammaX6 You're not the only one who cares about developers?  I used to really enjoy your posts but to act like you're the only one who cares... 🙄. Condescending, much!"

I don't recall saying that nobody cares about the developers anywhere directly. Yes, I might have implied that indirectly, but that wasn't specifically to you or anyone personally. I just feel like sometimes, some players are overly hostile towards the developers in general and I wanted to give the devs some credit for their work and not make their efforts seem undermined especially since the last few months had been tough for them. Trying to fix most bugs/issues and everything.

Yes, I am annoyed about the game's "controls" and "responsiveness" mostly that I've been playing other games and have no incentive to play BFN as much as I did. And that's because I share everybody's frustration as well. It is strange how GW1/GW2 nailed controls but BFN shipped with broken ones. What developing GW1/GW2 was for if they couldn't get the basics right.

And yes, I do type criticism every now and then. I don't disagree with your post either. 

I didn't want the post to turn into a bitter argument... All what I wanted to say from my first reply was "have patience", "the patch notes were Balance related only", "they might have fixed the issues you're talking about", and "no need to jump into conclusions, yet".

"I keep trying to remember you from GW2 and GW1 but am struggling?"

I used to play both games for a long time... Is your PS4 ID different than splash_damage ?

I usually play on EU or NAE, so you might not see me if you were in NAW.

[spIash_damage]

---

@GraveledStoopid wrote:

As it has been stated many times throughout this thread, many people take place in creative input when developing a game. Just stinks because this is the first game in the series that literally feels like 30 people who had never played the series and all had different ideas of how and why changes should be made. 

Great games play as one. Fluid. This game has far too many ideas and changes in different directions. Someone needs to grab hold of the reigns and give it direction, preferably someone who has been playing the series since release. 🤙

---

This.  Spot on.

Additionally, many of us have great love for the entire team at both Popcap and EA but that doesn't change the facts we're currently facing.