This is a suggestions about the process of implementing big changes in the game. So we all know that games eventually update and new and cool things are added. Though the things they add are great, they are not always loved by the community. Though i am not saying that all players will be happy or unhappy about every update. I am saying that creating a way we can channel our feelings about a big update to the developers in my opinion will foster a bigger/stronger and better relationship towards the future of the life of the game.
So how do we channel these feeings? the devs create a poll inside the game and the forums. In this poll we can vote up or vote down on a big update plan. when the players vote up, a counter rises and list the name of the player who voted. When a player votes down though on the update, they will have a chance latter or in that moment to rework the concept or create a concept of their own to present to the devs as an alternative to the big concept update. The update the devs created has to have not been worked on as in creating any sort of work. Just the concept wise of this update will have been thought up and put out bare for us to read. This way we will not be wasting any development time.
When i mean a big update, i mean an update that covers an entire field, or an update that will change how the general functionality of how weapons work. Like an update that affects more then 50% of the game or will permanently affect every future player.
Now when we create an alternative for the update, the devs do not have to in anyway choose our suggestion. This poll is mostly just a tool/aplication to see how players feel about an incoming project and for the devs to see if they need to do any changes. It's also a way players feel they are part of the team, and that their voices are being heard.
I feel that is something most games lack, a way for the players to be part of the growth of the game. The reason i say a poll and not one on one chat with the devs is so that the players and devs can still keep their seperate rolls and not get too personal with eaxh other. This way no one peraon will carry more influence with their voice then a new person that just joined. Well i hope you like the idea and if you don't please tell me why.
Oh forgot, this poll can last 1 or 2 weeks base on how busy the devs are so as not to halt production by too long.
I remember the idea of having a noticeboard in Haven that players could interact with was an idea in the past. Honestly, I'd like it if for every update, promo, event, etc. that was released that we could have a community "stance" on the update. With it being in game, we could have it tag our rank, playtime, money spent, and other statistics that might be helpful in designing future updates. However, we shouldn't have a vote on updates that have already happened or are in development.
With the noticeboard, we could have more things than just an update poll - news, player requests ("looking for a shadow lair on X day"), guild events, etc. Every thing you post is tied to you name and account, and make it cost 10-25 crowns to post something on the board. The board can be wiped every day for new posts to be put up, but perhaps you can pay more crowns to have it up for a maximum of a week. (25 crowns for one day, 350 crowns for a week).
Overall I think having any more communication with the devs is great, however this is an opportunity to make the community closer while giving our thoughts. We're more likely to see more players use the noticeboard as well since it's in-game.