Competitive Play Newsletter
Hugh
CameramanSan Francisco, CA Join Date: 2010-04-18 Member: 71444NS2 Developer, NS2 Playtester, Reinforced - Silver, Reinforced - Onos, WC 2013 - Shadow, Subnautica Developer, Pistachionauts
CameramanSan Francisco, CA Join Date: 2010-04-18 Member: 71444NS2 Developer, NS2 Playtester, Reinforced - Silver, Reinforced - Onos, WC 2013 - Shadow, Subnautica Developer, Pistachionauts
<div class="IPBDescription">Improving UWE - Community Communications</div>Hi everyone!
Today, 17 team captains should have received the inaugural competitive play newsletter from UWE. It's all about improving UWE's ability to communicate with you all! Why would you do that, you ask? Well, you can read all about it in the newsletter itself. I'll paste the text (obviously all the images and links won't work) below. If you like the idea of being kept up to date on competitive happenings, <a href="http://eepurl.com/qMx7f" target="_blank">you can sign up to the newsletter here.</a> Please let your team mates know this is now available.
*** Begin paste ***
As the NS2 community has grown, so have the limits of our old communication methods become apparent. This is our first attempt to create a newsletter tailored to the needs of you as competitive players. Now and through the launch of Natural Selection 2 in twelve days, you are going to see lots of new efforts to improve the way Unknown Worlds can support and help your play.
First up, why is UWE getting so involved in competitive play? It is an important question. You all created a competitive scene without any annoying 'help' from a developer. You all hold fantastic competitions without UWE, and will no doubt continue to do so after launch. We are not necessary for the competitive scene to grow and thrive. You will play what you want to play no matter what we do.
In many competitive communities, there is a clear sense of 'us and them.' Much discussion revolves around 'if only the developer would fix this.' There is a disconnect between the people who are making the game, and the people playing the game at the highest, most beatiful levels (you!). Often there are publishers in the way, or the development team simply doesn't want to get involved. Well, that is one way of doing it. But at UWE we think we are in this together. We exist to create games people want to play, and support that game from release long, long into the future. That means all groups of players. That includes public players. That includes competitive players. That includes you.
Because we are in it together, we should work together. UWE should be responsive to your needs, and do what we can to support your play. Of course, we have to be careful not to get in the way of your play. You are not 'our' community. Your play is not 'ours.' It is your play. This means that UWE will try at all times to provide support where needed, and back off when you tell us we are getting in the way. It is about striking the right balance, and as we sail into 2013 we will get better and better at that balance.
Right now, there are three key areas in which we think we can help:
1. Be responsive to your feedback - on how the game is playing, and what changes need to be made to improve competitive play
While it has been a bumpy road, the game right now is a direct product of feedback from players like you. There have been over 370,000 alpha/beta games played since 2010. Competitive games are a signfiicant proportion of that. While mechanisms for feedback have come and gone, changes have been consistently driven by competitive players. Even if not all of it has gone in we hope you will agree that overall changes have been made. Charlie will continue to watch your matches, read your emails, scan the forums and watch for competitive input. Post launch, we will continue to explore new feedback mechanisms for competitive players to use.
2. Facilitate communication - between you, and between UWE and players.
Previous tournaments have been a hodge podge of communication methods. There is no central place for competitive players to browse leagues, tournaments and upcoming play. There are multiple outstanding community mechanisms (Such as ENSL.org and the upcoming NS2Hub). We are currrently working behind the scenes on a system that will be able to tie in to all these community efforts, providing a 'backhaul' for competitive play. We hope this will help with communication, as will these newsletters, and of course we will continue to take suggestions and develop better communication post launch.
3. Create 'halo' events - that everyone can aspire to play in, that blow away everyone's preconceptions about the limits of NS2 competitive play.
Everyone saw the League of Legends World Championships. Competitive gaming is real and it is growing. Where once the best, most skilled, most artful players and teams were only celebrated in a virtual world, we are now entering an age were they can fill stadiums. There are 'esports' organisations that turn their nose up at 'small' games. To that we say 'well, watch this.' Individually, it may be so that no team can stage a tournament in a stadium. But together, there is no limit to what we can achieve. The ESL launch event is just the start. Together, we can take competitive NS2 to venues and scales that no one ever thought possible. If you are a team player, an honourable sportsman, an artful strategist and sharp shooter - Then we want you to have the opportunity to stand with your head held high in front of an audience that appreciates your play.
Of course, if there are other areas in which you think we can help, say the word! The best place to speak up right now is in the competitive play forums. They are read regularly and all thoughtful, friendly posts get an airing through a dev's head. For now, these three areas will be our focus.
Cheers,
UWE
***End Paste***
Today, 17 team captains should have received the inaugural competitive play newsletter from UWE. It's all about improving UWE's ability to communicate with you all! Why would you do that, you ask? Well, you can read all about it in the newsletter itself. I'll paste the text (obviously all the images and links won't work) below. If you like the idea of being kept up to date on competitive happenings, <a href="http://eepurl.com/qMx7f" target="_blank">you can sign up to the newsletter here.</a> Please let your team mates know this is now available.
*** Begin paste ***
As the NS2 community has grown, so have the limits of our old communication methods become apparent. This is our first attempt to create a newsletter tailored to the needs of you as competitive players. Now and through the launch of Natural Selection 2 in twelve days, you are going to see lots of new efforts to improve the way Unknown Worlds can support and help your play.
First up, why is UWE getting so involved in competitive play? It is an important question. You all created a competitive scene without any annoying 'help' from a developer. You all hold fantastic competitions without UWE, and will no doubt continue to do so after launch. We are not necessary for the competitive scene to grow and thrive. You will play what you want to play no matter what we do.
In many competitive communities, there is a clear sense of 'us and them.' Much discussion revolves around 'if only the developer would fix this.' There is a disconnect between the people who are making the game, and the people playing the game at the highest, most beatiful levels (you!). Often there are publishers in the way, or the development team simply doesn't want to get involved. Well, that is one way of doing it. But at UWE we think we are in this together. We exist to create games people want to play, and support that game from release long, long into the future. That means all groups of players. That includes public players. That includes competitive players. That includes you.
Because we are in it together, we should work together. UWE should be responsive to your needs, and do what we can to support your play. Of course, we have to be careful not to get in the way of your play. You are not 'our' community. Your play is not 'ours.' It is your play. This means that UWE will try at all times to provide support where needed, and back off when you tell us we are getting in the way. It is about striking the right balance, and as we sail into 2013 we will get better and better at that balance.
Right now, there are three key areas in which we think we can help:
1. Be responsive to your feedback - on how the game is playing, and what changes need to be made to improve competitive play
While it has been a bumpy road, the game right now is a direct product of feedback from players like you. There have been over 370,000 alpha/beta games played since 2010. Competitive games are a signfiicant proportion of that. While mechanisms for feedback have come and gone, changes have been consistently driven by competitive players. Even if not all of it has gone in we hope you will agree that overall changes have been made. Charlie will continue to watch your matches, read your emails, scan the forums and watch for competitive input. Post launch, we will continue to explore new feedback mechanisms for competitive players to use.
2. Facilitate communication - between you, and between UWE and players.
Previous tournaments have been a hodge podge of communication methods. There is no central place for competitive players to browse leagues, tournaments and upcoming play. There are multiple outstanding community mechanisms (Such as ENSL.org and the upcoming NS2Hub). We are currrently working behind the scenes on a system that will be able to tie in to all these community efforts, providing a 'backhaul' for competitive play. We hope this will help with communication, as will these newsletters, and of course we will continue to take suggestions and develop better communication post launch.
3. Create 'halo' events - that everyone can aspire to play in, that blow away everyone's preconceptions about the limits of NS2 competitive play.
Everyone saw the League of Legends World Championships. Competitive gaming is real and it is growing. Where once the best, most skilled, most artful players and teams were only celebrated in a virtual world, we are now entering an age were they can fill stadiums. There are 'esports' organisations that turn their nose up at 'small' games. To that we say 'well, watch this.' Individually, it may be so that no team can stage a tournament in a stadium. But together, there is no limit to what we can achieve. The ESL launch event is just the start. Together, we can take competitive NS2 to venues and scales that no one ever thought possible. If you are a team player, an honourable sportsman, an artful strategist and sharp shooter - Then we want you to have the opportunity to stand with your head held high in front of an audience that appreciates your play.
Of course, if there are other areas in which you think we can help, say the word! The best place to speak up right now is in the competitive play forums. They are read regularly and all thoughtful, friendly posts get an airing through a dev's head. For now, these three areas will be our focus.
Cheers,
UWE
***End Paste***
Comments
Much lurve! ♥<!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc-->
I hope to see it get bigger then any one eSports site and spread to the far corners of the globe :)
We should actually do this!! It would be great fun to have a drama heading :). It could be filled with the most melodramatic and exciting gossip!
I see big main page headline:
<i>"Zups ended Fanas 5 kill killstreak with parasite! Now Fana wants parasite removed from the game!"</i>
and
<i>"6 minute onos is still rumbling the house."</i>
Good luck with these things, I will do my best to support you all the way!
<i>"Zups ended Fanas 5 kill killstreak with parasite! Now Fana wants parasite removed from the game!"</i><!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
LOL :DDDD
<!--quoteo(post=1994009:date=Oct 20 2012, 04:28 AM:name=Akiro)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Akiro @ Oct 20 2012, 04:28 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1994009"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Very cool, uevo might be coming back. If anyone remembers us.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Wasn't mustang in ue before terror?
Not sure besides me we will have many original uevo members but i do have people who played ns1 quite a bit so im excited.