A Sea-change in HBS Customer Interaction...

[Prussian Havoc]

Well...I did ask Mitch another question, to which I got a very interesting reply, and I will return here in a few weeks time with a HECK YA! if it comes to fruition.

...ah geez...

 

[HBS_HighCommand]

Gone is the HBS “Ask the Devs” forum section.

Gone are the monthly HBS Dev Q&A’s.

Gone are the HBS Dev-Twitter-Accounts (Kiva’s as an example, though she still maintains her personal Twitter Account.)

Gone is the twice-a-week or weekly HBS-run Death-From-Above Twitch Program.

Gone is the HBS Forum.

Gone is HBS from this year’s GENCON.



To me, the above represents a sea-change in HBS Customer Interaction. One that may endure or be of a temporary nature. But to be clear, I am not talking about Mitch and Devs occasionally dropping into a thread here on the Paradox BATTLETECH forum. The above instances of customer interaction represents a uniquely high commitment on the part of HBS to invest in its level of interaction with its BATTLETECH Customers. It is this commitment, policy and practice that I am noting as having changed, significantly enough that it to me represents a sea-change.



Here’s where I am coming from. I paid $125 (House Scion level-of-backing) to help kickstart BATTLETECH. BATTLETECH (the game itself) earned HBS my $125.

But HBS (through the above listed means of customer interaction) quickly came to distinguish itself as separate from the pack of near-peer game developers.

My more than 12k posts to the HBS forum and more than 2,500 posts here on Paradox’ BATTLETECH forum are a direct result of BOTH HBS’ original policy and practices of interaction with its customers.

I have come to VALUE HBS Customer Interaction. In support and with a like-intention I have joined with HBS and my fellow HBS Customers and contributed directly toward building an even healthier BATTLETECH game community. My posts in general, my forum efforts to greet & orient forum members new to our BATTLETECH community (currently reflected in the composition of my signature block) as well as my having run a couple GENCON 50 BATTLETECH Meet and Greets ~ were all sparked by HBS’s original policy and practice of investment in its Customer Interaction.


But now HBS appears to be on a different track. And to me, something that set HBS above its competition is in the process of fading away.


Do you agree?

Are there extenuating circumstances, beyond the acqusition by Paradox that should be considered?


If you have any comments, questions or critisms, please let me know. :bow:

As ever good luck and good BATTLETECH gaming! : )

The truth is that we've been up to our ears in work, PH. Localization, Linux, 1.1., 1.2, 1.3 (you'll hear more about this soon), BT postmortems, integration with PDX, planning for future BT stuff, looking for new office space - all at the same time. We're just swamped.

I want to start some Dev Diaries soon and hopefully we'll get a live-streaming space in our new building so we can chat "in-person".

Cheers!
Mitch

 

[Prussian Havoc]

I'm sure they miss-clicked and didn't realize it .

While I am not the person-in-question THIS time, while on my phone I am guilty of first “respectfully disagreeing” only to just seconds later “agree”... oh, about a dozen or more times!

Just a little more space between the options would be great... or maybe I just need a smartphone with a bigger screen, hmm...

 

[MeiSooHaityu]

The truth is that we've been up to our ears in work, PH. Localization, Linux, 1.1., 1.2, 1.3 (you'll hear more about this soon), BT postmortems, integration with PDX, planning for future BT stuff, looking for new office space - all at the same time. We're just swamped.

I want to start some Dev Diaries soon and hopefully we'll get a live-streaming space in our new building so we can chat "in-person".

Cheers!
Mitch

Sounds like some exciting things are in the works! Very cool.

 

[MeiSooHaityu]

While I am not the person-in-question THIS time, while on my phone I am guilty of first “respectfully disagreeing” only to just seconds later “agree”... oh, about a dozen or more times!

Just a little more space between the options would be great... or maybe I just need a smartphone with a bigger screen, hmm...

I've been guilty of that too .

 

[BunglingLummox]

1.3 (you'll hear more about this soon)

...and suddenly I'm excited and impatient again. Not sure if elated or very, very cross.

 

[Prussian Havoc]

The truth is that we've been up to our ears in work, PH. Localization, Linux, 1.1., 1.2, 1.3 (you'll hear more about this soon), BT postmortems, integration with PDX, planning for future BT stuff, looking for new office space - all at the same time. We're just swamped.

I want to start some Dev Diaries soon and hopefully we'll get a live-streaming space in our new building so we can chat "in-person".

Cheers!
Mitch

“New Office Space” I am loving the sound of that! : )

And thank you for responding here. :bow:

Dev Diaries, Live-Streaming and updates on key aspects of BATTLETECH will all be very welcome indeed. And taken as a whole, will come to be how we know HBS moving forward.

Change is life, in so many ways. This sounds good.

 

[Marauder3D]

The truth is that we've been up to our ears in work, PH. Localization, Linux, 1.1., 1.2, 1.3 (you'll hear more about this soon), BT postmortems, integration with PDX, planning for future BT stuff, looking for new office space - all at the same time. We're just swamped.

I want to start some Dev Diaries soon and hopefully we'll get a live-streaming space in our new building so we can chat "in-person".

Cheers!
Mitch

Mitch! A friend of mine was at GenCon (where he picked me up the the BattleTech Box set and a copy of Shattered Fortress) and he said he was on the plane ride back with you.

I'm sure fans pester you constantly, and I wondered how many questions he actually asked you. Sadly, if it were me, you'd probably ask the stewardess to reseat you elsewhere.

Hope you had a great time at GenCon, and thanks for stopping in here with us.

Best,

 

[HBS_Kiva]

Hey nerds! believe it or not, i'm far busier now than i was pre-launch, because now i have a *lot* more data to work with as far as how the game tuning is working, what the most egregious problems are, and what groundwork we need to lay for future features.

also please keep in mind, since it's come up a couple of times, that my twitter account was *never* an official HBS communication channel. It was always meant to be an informal way for me to talk about game design with fans and other developers. There's an official HBS twitter, and an official BattleTech twitter, and a wide variety of official Paradox twitters. 'HBS_Kiva' isn't one of them.

As to why I shuttered it: Pre-launch, I liked talking about the thinking behind some of my work, but these days you can literally just launch the game to see that thinking in action. I'm sure that as we start to ramp up on another project, I'll dust off that account and start using it again. But just for the record: nobody asked me to shut it down. Not Mitch, not anyone at HBS, and certainly not anyone at Paradox. I did it myself because I was still getting a lot of engagement, and I didn't want people to follow me there expecting insights or discussion.

Anywaaaaay i'm going back to this thing i'm doing which involves spreadsheets. which really narrows down what i'm working on, i'm sure

 

[Marauder3D]

Kiva! We're so happy to see and hear from you again!

We're getting the band back together! Woot!

 

[Ballacraine]

A very welcome return of developer input!

Thank you both.

 

[Pewpew!]

Hey nerds! believe it or not, i'm far busier now than i was pre-launch, because now i have a *lot* more data to work with as far as how the game tuning is working, what the most egregious problems are, and what groundwork we need to lay for future features.

also please keep in mind, since it's come up a couple of times, that my twitter account was *never* an official HBS communication channel. It was always meant to be an informal way for me to talk about game design with fans and other developers. There's an official HBS twitter, and an official BattleTech twitter, and a wide variety of official Paradox twitters. 'HBS_Kiva' isn't one of them.

As to why I shuttered it: Pre-launch, I liked talking about the thinking behind some of my work, but these days you can literally just launch the game to see that thinking in action. I'm sure that as we start to ramp up on another project, I'll dust off that account and start using it again. But just for the record: nobody asked me to shut it down. Not Mitch, not anyone at HBS, and certainly not anyone at Paradox. I did it myself because I was still getting a lot of engagement, and I didn't want people to follow me there expecting insights or discussion.

Anywaaaaay i'm going back to this thing i'm doing which involves spreadsheets. which really narrows down what i'm working on, i'm sure

Ah yes youve become a Spreadsheet Warrior. What rank?

 

[Pewpew!]

A live streaming space needs a fireplace, comfy armchair, ashtray, and coaster for the drink of Mitchs choice.

 

[Pewpew!]

What are battletech post mortems?

 

[HBS_Kiva]

What are battletech post mortems?

That's where we talk about the development process: what went right, what went wrong, and what we've learned for next time.

 

[PauloBrito]

What are battletech post mortems?

The poor sods that clean the field after the mechwarriors play, duh. Alternatively they are BT CSI.

 

[nainredwood]

That's where we talk about the development process: what went right, what went wrong, and what we've learned for next time.

My personal experience with post mortems is a lot of good info is brought up. Sometimes even some good solutions. Aaaand then the exact same mistakes are repeated in the next project. Hope you guys have a better outcome

 

[Lyrch75]

My personal experience with post mortems is a lot of good info is brought up. Sometimes even some good solutions. Aaaand then the exact same mistakes are repeated in the next project. Hope you guys have a better outcome

The best ones that I have been around had a third party involved. Pretty much a sacrificial goat for all the hurt feelings that a really good AAR/post mortem causes. Strictly internal ones... bad blood for years, if the AAR/PM is done to maximize improving the system long term.

 

[Landsknecht]

The best ones that I have been around had a third party involved. Pretty much a sacrificial goat for all the hurt feelings that a really good AAR/post mortem causes. Strictly internal ones... bad blood for years, if the AAR/PM is done to maximize improving the system long term.

If you're generating bad blood for years, that's an AAR that's going to damage the system's components (people) as much as it's helping process!

 

[FireStoat]

Thank you for the info drops that were done in this thread. It's greatly appreciated. In regards to the OP's thoughts that started the thread - I felt the same way but remain optimistic that HBS will resume with official communications in the near future.