Explaining the situation and hostility we have, offering a way forward for Fusion?
[climbs onto soapbox]
As I see it right now we have a lot of negativity and arguing on the forum. Both sides (devs and fans) feel an injustice, and there seems little way forward without fracturing the already dwindling community.
I offer my observations form both sides, and a possible way forward.
To summarise the below, the main issue has been pretty dreadful communication before and since Fusion's release (in both directions to some degree), and the differing priorities and vision between fans and devs. More empathy and compromises are needed from both parties and better communication is essential.
____
Current state of play...
Devs
They are and have been working hard to make Fusion a great game (why wouldn't they want this?), so it is hurtful when they are accused of being lazy, greedy or incompetent.
Their vision as to the way to take Fusion forward (influenced I am sure by Ubisoft) differs in quite some way initially to that of the hardcore fans, but they never outlined this vision nor their priority list as to what they want to do and when (roughly) they wanted to do it (prevented from doing so, or choosing not to?)
Many of their design decisions have tried to freshen and take the franchise to a wider audience (obviously sensible when marketing a product), but some have been at the expense of features that have been the cornerstone of what the fans felt made Trials great - innovation is great, but new is not necessarily better.
They can see the long term goal for Fusion, are surely excited for what is to come and are disgruntled and dismayed by the outcry and vociferous backlash on the forums.
Announcing 6 DLCs was a great plan to get more people to invest in the franchise, but did it not occur that fans from Evo would naturally compare the DLCs to those from Evo? Would it have been a good idea to explain that in total the size would be similar to Evo 2 DLCs but you wanted more regular (but smaller) DLCs? Manage the expectations of the fans...
Fans
Some of the most passionate and committed fans for any game out there surely - what other games have such a huge proportion of fans who put 500+ hours into their game?
With this passion and commitment comes a feeling of ownership over the franchise and high expectations for the next game.
With such dreadful communication from RedLynx (seemingly coinciding with the Ubisoft takeover) about the RL/Ubi vision and priorities for their new game, plus the changing forum and the issues with Uplay, many of the hardcore/committed fans with huge hours into HD/Evo felt betrayed (strong word yes, but absolutely the feeling many have), and many have unfortunately not made the jump from Evo to Fusion - the community is a shadow of its former self from the Evo heyday.
Fusion was released in an unfinished state (for whatever reason) this is undeniable, it seemed rushed and has many bugs. Passionate fans are notoriously impatient. Without being able to share the RL/Ubi long term vision and with a lack of info and high expectations, passion has led to unfair treatment of RL staff, rude and hurtful comments. Understandable perhaps, but not excusable.
The business model of Evo was perhaps too good to be true, and it is hard to adjust to a model moving closer into line with other big companies. Love it or hate it (I am saddened by the industry's direction), is it realistic to expect anything else? A compromise perhaps, a middle ground?
6 DLCs announced, that look like ending up the same size overall as the 2 DLCs from Evo - a right to be angry? It was a badly managed by RL in my opinion, if we had been told they would be smaller but more regular than Evo DLC would we have understood, I certainly would have.
Moving forward...
From Devs:
If the (rather awesome) fanbase is to be tamed and retained there simply must be better communication from the devs. Tell us roughly what your plans/priorities are, explain them from your point of view, enable us to empathise, and manage our expectations better. Be open to a compromise between making the game great by your definition (popular by numbers, highly rated across the internet and hence well selling and making money to invest in your company, dev team, future Trials games), and great by definition of the hardcore fans and supporters of the game (feature rich, retaining the great aspects of Evo/HD, innovating new ideas but not at the expense of old tried and tested ideas, value for money, and the sort of longevity that Evo enjoyed - enable us to feel some degree of ownership of the franchise we have totally committed to over the years, above all other games). Try and think who will still be playing the game in a years time and potentially pumping hundreds of hours into Track Central/SP when the casual players have moved on, despite any innovations that may have brought them to the game. Be understanding that the fans will have different priorities to you, but be prepared to compromise on occasion and be led by their desires to a degree. Give them back some ownership of the franchise, they (rightly or wrongly) feel largely ignored right now.
A lot of the hostility comes from (but is not excused by) the sheer frustration of feeling like your opinions are not being considered, however eloquently you present them. Bugs are not easy to fix, but is it possible to explain more about such things as tyre glitches, why Track Central was pretty minimal to start with and why you left local track management out initially?
EMPATHISE, RESPECT & COMMUNICATE WITH YOUR FANS.
From Fans:
Maintain respect and a level of courtesy towards the devs on the forum and other social media, if you wish them to keep visiting the forum and offering info. If they offer rough ideas, don't crucify them if their plans change. If you hold them to everything they say without room for manoeuvre then they simply won't offer any info until really pushed and very late on. Be understanding of the constraints the devs face, but also feel able to criticise (constructively) and question their decisions. Be understanding of each other also, the forum has indeed become rather toxic and not a nice place to visit. Understand that the devs are not a faceless entity you can berate and belittle, they deserve the same treatment you would expect from your peers at work/school. Be understanding that they will have slightly different priorities to the fans, and prepare to compromise. Lastly, understand that a great idea on paper may take months of coding/planning to effect - with communication from devs, patience is much easier to come by.
EMPATHISE, RESPECT & COMMUNICATE WITH YOUR DEVS.
____
I myself was very disillusioned with Fusion upon release. Track Central seemed ill-conceived, the massive thread of suggestions for Fusion largely ignored, and design decisions (without explanations) seemed odd and to the detriment of the pure Trials I fell in love with. With contributions from devs such as En0-, I have started to get a tiny glimpse of the difference between my vision for trials and RL/Ubi vision, but don't understand why that communication wasn't there from the start. Patch 1 never brought many changes from the massive Track Central thread we all contributed to, but we haven't really been told what things are on their way and which are not up for consideration.
There are lots of things I love about the game too: graphics on next gen are stunning, the hard/extremes are superb and just to my taste, the cross platform selection we are getting is great, and a good few of my favourite Evo builders are still around (though far fewer than I would have hoped :( ).
It's of no use now, but if the game had been held back 6 months then released I am pretty convinced we wouldn't be quite where we are now - MP would be included, more bugs fixed, and TC more refined...food for thought only I guess.
I want Trials to be great again, I want to have a stock of unplayed games on my shelf again!
Best. Franchise. Ever. It can be great again, hopefully, but at what cost to the community that made it great if there isn't compromise and communication? Both parties can do more, but I think a lot of responsibility lies with RL, partly in some decisions you make going forward, but largely in the way in which you communicate and involve/are led by your incredibly dedicated and vocal fans on the forum...these are the guys who will still be playing in a year or more...
I offer this as a last gasp attempt to find a way forward and re-ignite my love for the franchise...this, or I simply box up my HD-PVR and leave the forum and Fusion behind which isn't that far from my mind tbh. [cheers from my family in the background]
morrillo
[climbs off soapbox]
PS Give me the ability to download and play my favourites from my console, and don't limit the number of favourites I can have. Thanks!