You do realize that Larian also plays their own game right? And that other devs play other games right and often go through the same process of thinking?
You know devs that aren't related to video games, such as myself, use a product (like a certain HR/Payroll app) while also having to analyze it from an audience perspective right (hint: it's part of your fucking job)?
So, when you read what I wrote, nowhere did you think that after having achieved what I have asked that there is any gain? No new refinements in arguments, no perspectives, no new questions can be gained?
Like you don't think after applying any argument to these rigors they'll come out stronger or at least have a path to be stronger or have more clarity?
Larian is not a person who plays their own game. In actual reality devs rarely do and are mostly very bad at it. Because they actually spend far more time in development and are not really game players but - developers.
And due to that fact have a very different perception of the gameplay when they actually engage in it.
The rest of that reply is just a series of strawman hallucinations about what someone else thinks you created yourself.
So, you simply prefer people to say "5e is perfectly balanced, we should use this" with no context? Amazing.
Another ridiculous strawman.
.. Or you could just do what they're doing already, by the way welcome to 2020, have you heard of a defunct company called Cambridge Analytica? Or a small company called Facebook or a feature called Google Maps or Waze?
What a hilariously self defeating argument in light of how much damage, distortion and various other negative influences and consequences all these companies created out of that specific data mining laser focused on the worst the human kind can offer, their amalgams and issues of how that can be used to draw in and ruin the rest.
The best way is to look at actual player behavior and mine the players for information then construct profiles based on that and let that inform you while adding forum/reddit/whatever feedback as secondary sources.
Best way for what? Delusions? Amassed lowest common denominators base reflexes?
Not that forums or reddit is much better, but this is the same as if someone would argue that every post and thread on the forums and reddit is equally valuable.
Shouldn't the very fact that they have a heat map give you a hint as to what they're thinking and their capabilities? Or the fact that they know what the romance rates are or how many times people have pet a damn thing?
Oy, the capabilities. How fancy. The heat maps! They sure tell you almost absolutely nothing because of the very fact players dont have any other options but to go where the content is and engage in as much of it as it is available.
Romance rates? How can any of that data reveal if those rates are happening because players actually really like those romances - or simply because its just content that can be clicked on and it makes little sense to avoid it. Especially early on when nobody knows where such content may lead. Or not. How much of it is actual enjoyment and how much is just early curiosity or fear about missing something?
You need data mining to tell you a lot of people will pet the damn dog? Or try to have sex with every companion they can? Really?
I can tell you the same for much less money - any time you ask. What a big reveal. Astounding data mining technologies and capabilities.
This sort of data can show something. Its not completely worthless but its largely superficial and very amenable to whatever interpretation is easy to make in order to give some easy lines to marketing.
This is where the real data is at, not a stupid survey, not these forums, not reddit.
Only if you are delusional, ignorant and prefer to lie to yourself. Preference of this kind of extremely limited and distorted data samples happens because its a great excuse to avoid actually dealing with people who play your EA or whatever, which is often difficult and fraught with traps of modern social media and mass temper tantrum reactions.
