Actually there is some evidence that a majority of players aren't up in arms. The game has sold in the 100's of thousands, and the number of people actively complaining are, well, not. Most of those players also play for a long time too
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/new...er-Kings-Have-Average-Play-Times-of-190-Hours
Take the stats with a grain of salt if you must, but the fact is a vast majority of players play for a long time, and feel no need to complain on the forums. This isn't to say they
like every change.
Well, three things. First, sales do not equal satisfaction. For that matter, neither does length of time played. I have just shy of 30 hours in on EUIV before I realized something was wrong and came to the forums to see if it was just me or if it was part of the game. It can take that long just to get acquainted with the mechanics of these kinds of games. And some players may hang on and hang on, playing, but feeling frustrated, while trying to MAKE the game be what they want by wishing it were so. Is that silly? Yeah, but it still happens. My point is that you can't know from length of time played alone what a player thinks of the game. Third, when you throw CK2 into the mix, you skew your averages. So Iwouldn't say that EUIV is bulletproof based on information that also includes CK2. Instead, I'd say that gamers seem to play Paradox games for a long time...and leave it at that. There's nothing further to take out of that statistic.
On the subject of "Why would people having fun come to the forums? Only people who dislike the game come to the forums," that may be true, but it may also miss plenty of people who dislike the game who DON'T come to the forums. You know what happens when clients are pissed at you in most businesses?
Nothing. Nothing happens. By that, I mean that they simply disappear. You never hear from them again. They don't buy from you again, they don't complain, they just...spend their money elsewhere.
I can think of many reasons. For me it was because i loved the game so much i wanted to be part of a community of like-minded gamers. On the flip side, ive purchased just as many bad steam games as the next guy, played them for an hour then cursed myself for wasting money. But never once have i gone to the games forum and bashed it; i just gave it up and forgot about it.
If I or anyone else on this forums complains, it's because we love the game and we're frustrated that with every new month/patch they keep changing basic game mechanics in a way that fundamentally alters our beloved pastime. Then by the time we learn to love whatever changes were made... they do another 180.
The vast majority of complaints on this forum arent posted because ppl hate the game, it's because we love it. We love it too much to up and forget about it just because the devs screwed something up this month, and we feel compelled to provide feedback in hopes that someone will notice. That's it, nothing more nothing less.
And this is really important to remember. People post here because they care. The forums are indeed a subset of the average gamers, but they represent your most passionate gamers who either love the game or WANT to love the game because they love the concept. If you can't win them over, if you dismiss them as "a bunch of whiners," who are you gonna sell to? Eventually, nobody. Because you'll put out a crappy product, people will buy it...and then they'll just not buy stuff from you again.
I'm not at a point where I'd swear off Paradox games. I AM at a point where I've sworn off EUIV and -- remember -- that's 30 hours in. I hope EUIV can turn around, but I'm not optimistic. I think the core design choices for this game are such that you can't really fix it without doing a HUGE overhaul and adding in a bunch of new mechanics...like internal governance. I don't see Paradox doing that, so I'll be giving Victoria II and CK2 a try, since (A) I heard they're in good shape now that they're longer in the tooth, and (B) I got 'em on deep discount.
What I can also tell you is this: I would not pre-order a Paradox game ever. I also would not pay full price for it ever. Lastly, I would wait maybe even up to two years into the game's life cycle before I'd buy one, at least based on the experience with EUIV, because it's just so goddamn unstable in terms of design. That's what EUIV has taught me: buy, but buy cautiously....for now. I'm hoping I don't learn the lesson to just not buy. I'd like to think there's a company out there that can really do grand strategy well. Right now, I think Paradox is probably it, and EUIV is simply a misfire in that regard. I'm ok with that. Sometimes you get duds in a company's record. Right now, I'm a passionate supporter of the style of games Paradox aspires to create. I want them to succeed, and that's why I'm here, even if I'm critical. But if I get the sense that Paradox isn't up to the job, you know what I'll do?
Nothing.
I won't bitch further. I won't stage a protest. I won't post some long forum farewell to the game.
I'll just disappear and spend my money elsewhere.
. Bout 1000 hours in total.
