Courts of the Crane Clan

I don't yet, I'm all out of full trust. Should I just stop buying cards until the story team delivers? They're trying to create a product that has had poor returns in recent years, and they're doing it without doing much that other companies would do, in or out of the gaming industry, to build consumer confidence in their product.

I would never suggest the story team divulge information without permission. I am suggesting, however, that the story team convince someone in charge that the benefits of story surprises or trying to perfectly match up with flavor text on sets that may or may not release on time anyway are outweighed by the benefits to be gained by projecting enough concrete plans to excite the customer base.

I'm really trying hard to be a voice of reason and moderation, and you guys all know that's very difficult for me. Here goes nothing.

Kalen is right in that we need to know that AEG has a plan for the Crane. However, we've heard from multiple sides that they heard us, so they know that we need to know. However, they will probably wait to divulge this plan until our PATH is out. I'd wait with whetting the knives until we can discuss that.

If that plan does not "deliver" (that is, if none of the PATHS laid out for us are to our liking) we will devise a fourth option. Then we'll know what to expect from the story team in terms of concrete plans.
The other bit will be execution. I already stated what I expect from courtly fiction, and for a random person on the internet (who along with everybody else is a critic these days) will try to be as fair as possible, even though I feel a fair amount of fanboy rage currently.

It's not fanboy rage that should concern them, it's the dissatisfaction of people who have spent tens of thousands of dollars on their products. The entire Rokugan product line is carried by big-spending CCG players...and as tournament attendance will show, there aren't that many of us left. The threats to quit playing aren't idle, and even the most die-hard of us are getting close to being done unless something proactive is done to SHOW us that both the story and the products are going in a direction where will still want to spend our time and, more importantly, our money.

I have a sudden desire for there to be actual, legitimate research (validated questionnaires, focus groups, surveys, etc.) done among the money-spending fanbase to identify their concerns and motivations. Having solid, credible data can only better inform the dialogue with AEG to further our mutual interests.

I can assure you we are aware and we are taking steps to address your concerns.

It is simply very difficult to change things over night.

People have been complaining since the end of Celestial Edition, and the response is always "we're working on it, it takes time." I'd figure out how to make it happen in less time, time isn't an unlimited commodity for AEG.

At any rate, it's good to see people finally in the angry/engaged mode - as opposed to the frustrated/disinterested mode. I was sort of afraid to see this community die when John left.

Well the forums have always seen traffic increase or decrease in relation to the quality of products AEG produces, and the last year was really the first time when AEG was producing neither a card game nor a story people wanted.

A few quick questions. These are entirely personal and not meant to convey the opinion or stance of AEG:

- How would you go about showing which players spend the largest amount of money on the game? Aside from simple anecdotal evidence? I have considered the idea of polling, personally.
- How would you then find out exactly what those players (and others) "really want to see" in the story?

One of the issues I have in terms of figuring out what stories will be intriguing and which will not is that it involves considerable guesswork. For example, if I hear someone say "You should have more stories about Battle Maidens" that serves A purpose, but not a very good one. What kind of stories? Other details at naseum.

I think at this point we can safely be assured that AEG knows there are issues and even knows what some of them are and is working to fix them. However, as nearly every military leader I've had at this point says: "Problems with solutions, not just problems"

How would you go about correcting the problems?