I think this is a neat idea for a thread. It's a refreshing change from the usual types of thread being started. I must say, I have zero hope that this will elicit the slightest response from Larian. But that's good in a way : I could only be positively surprised if I turn out to be wrong. At any rate, I like the idea, so ... I'm game.
- What is your philosophy for EA communication ?
Since the EA was open, you have only communicated through your Community Updates, with the occasional Panel From Hell. A number of players have found the content of these communications to carefully avoid the most contentious issues discussed in the community. You must have noticed these topics and it cannot be an accident that you didn't address them. So you must have come to the conclusion that it is preferable to avoid these topics altogether. One would naively assume that more communication is good : it could allow some frequent requests to be dropped and make the feedback reading process easier, for instance. So what is your rationale for avoiding revealing your plans and state of mind on these issues ? In your opinion, what could be the gains and losses, the benefits and risks, if you were to let people know what your vision and thoughts are ?
- How has work been going and what is your timeline for full release ?
In addition to the usual problems of working under the covid19 pandemic, you have now seen the game be played "for real", by players. This generated a lot of feedback, and perhaps brought significant changes to your roadmap. Are things going better than expected ? Or did you find more problems and areas for work than you anticipated ? Before EA, you said you would spend at least one year in EA. Some players have encouraged you to take the time that you need to finish the game properly, taking two years if need be. On the other hand, Swen mentioned in the Panel From Hell 2 that the game "has to ship" at some point. Do you have a hard time limit that you don't want to exceed ?
- How informative are player data at the moment ? How much are you learning from it ? What was that thing about Bless ?
In an interview for Wireframe, you explained that you could see players not using a buffing spell like Bless very much. And that this seemingly supported the view that players want fireworks and damage. What did you mean by that exactly ? Some players feared you were not drawing correct conclusions from the wealth of data you are presently collecting. And that the data collected now would be of lesser value than the data you will be collecting in 3 or 6 months, where you might have a lower volume of EA players.
