Why is it so hard to say no?

[Deornwulf]

I hope that I have done nothing to be placed on Dan or Soren's ignore list but that my earlier post was just missed.

Is it against Firaxis policy to answer 'no' to a question about possible changes to the game?

For example, if I ask "Will the next patch allow a player to determine what percentage of the map will be jungle tiles?" is it speculation to say "No, we have no plans to include that change."

If you are unable to answer no, that causes us, the fans, to assume that a change is possible and under consideration. I think these assumptions are what lead to such bad feelings and negative posts.

[Deornwulf]

Everyone needs a Yin

Yin, keep it up. If it wasn't for someone pointing out the flaws of a thing, that thing would never improve. I award you the title of Curmudgeon and place you among the ranks with the likes of Groucho Marx, George Burns, and Mark Twain.

Deornwulf - The English Teacher

A critic is a disappointed optimist hoping for improvement.

[Ralf]

Originally posted by Deornwulf
Is it against Firaxis policy to answer 'no' to a question about possible changes to the game?

I think its against Firaxis policy to answer "no" or "yes" to a question, that they themselves isnt sure of. As soon as they ARE sure, they can answer.

[Pythagoras]

Re: Why is it so hard to say no?

Originally posted by Deornwulf
I hope that I have done nothing to be placed on Dan or Soren's ignore list but that my earlier post was just missed.

Is it against Firaxis policy to answer 'no' to a question about possible changes to the game?

For example, if I ask "Will the next patch allow a player to determine what percentage of the map will be jungle tiles?" is it speculation to say "No, we have no plans to include that change."

If you are unable to answer no, that causes us, the fans, to assume that a change is possible and under consideration. I think these assumptions are what lead to such bad feelings and negative posts.

I too have noted this throughout the whole civ3 design process. Go back to the "Ask The Civ Team" mailbags and you'll see that they ussually only answer questions that they have a positive/excited response too.

I think it might have to do with
(a) Good marketing practice and avoiding unwanted criticism.

and
(b) You make a game and you want to be excited about your accomplishment. So you want to avoid it being criticized, hence you tend to sell the game and its infinite coolness whenever posible.

Its hard to imagine making a game and having to put up with the tons of disgruntled fans that thought it was going to be something else, have them demand more out of you without even considering the effort you put in the game to get it this far, and considering that your team posts in that fan forums more than some other developers. Its all got to make you a tad frustrated sometimes. So to stay sane you just avoid posting to disgruntled fans who seem to never go away no matter what you say. In fact saying "no" might just make them more disgruntled...

Anyway

I too agree Yin is the bomb diggity. Though I like civ3 a lot I am glad that he is vocal about his concerns.

People that get mad at yin are even moreso humorous, I mean hes a fan, hes got ideas/concerns/what have you. Let him post what he wants on the fan forum.