Although I've thoroughly enjoyed playing Last Chaos for many years, I am beginning to grow more and more disappointed in Aeria for their utter lack of initiative when it comes to fixing the myriad of things wrong with the game.

Why is it that Tiered Events and Item Mall packages are updated on a daily or weekly basis while many of the serious bugs in the game have remained for years?
The answer is money. We all know it.
Now, I don't want to seem like a disgruntled customer.
As mentioned, I enjoy playing the game.
What I don't enjoy is watching it fall apart because of neglect.

Example 1

When I first got to Vladimir in late 2011 or early 2012 there was a glitch where you could fall under the map at Hecate and you'd have to work your way around or use a recall scroll to get back where you needed to be.
Here we are, nearly halfway through 2013, and yet the same glitch is there.
Are you honestly going to try to tell me that you can't fix a basic bug like that, Aeria?
Inexcusable.

Example 2

My favorite mountable P2 pet is the Red Diesel. I've had mine for well over a year and I still love it now as much as I did when I first bought it.
However, sometimes when you're riding it will randomly glitch up and stop moving.
Then you have to dismount and mount again in order to continue moving.
It seems to me like that would be a problem easily solved.
Am I a programmer? No. But I've probably been playing MMORPG's longer than a handful of the Aeria staff has been working on the technical side of gaming.
Not to say that I don't have respect for their workforce, because I do.
But I expect the people in charge to do their job the way it should be done.
And even if it was the most challenging problem in the entire game, why has it still not been fixed in well over a year?

Example 3

So apparently April was considered "bug fix month". That's pretty cool. Or at least it would be if I could actually see bugs and glitches being fixed.
During the whole month of April the patch notes only documented 4 bugs that were fixed and eluded to several more that none of us will get to know about apparently.
Frankly, that's not good enough.
Are you seriously going to tell me that in a whole month of work they only managed to fix 4 bugs noteworthy enough to make it to the patch notes?
And what about updates since then?

My Main Issue

The patch notes haven't even been updated since April 24th.
Gearing up for something big? That would be nice. But I doubt it.
And honestly, even if they are, they should still be letting us (the people who pay their salary) in on the particulars of their upcoming fixes and updates.

Now, I'm assuming that for some people this post is going to seem a bit hostile or disrespectful. Rest assured that that is not my intention. However, I am done being silent about these matters. Aeria needs to remember that we are their customers, not merely an audience to watch them tinker with technology. Without the players who pay for AP on a weekly or monthly basis, there would be no Last Chaos. And if they allow their secretiveness with the players and pacifism with the developers to continue, then it's only a matter of time before the ship sinks.

Reformation

Change needs to start with the GM's. Until the Game Masters start being more open with the community with regard to the coming updates, as well as their efforts to resolve outstanding code issues, they will be failing to do their job properly. I would like to remind them that they are not Office Masters, they are Game Masters. They need to start making more time to get in the game and talk with players about what's really going on.

Also, they need to listen up when the community brings out new ideas for gameplay or points out bugs and glitches that need to be fixed. Then, once these things have been brought to their attention, they need to work swiftly to go through the proper channels in order to get these problems fixed. And in the interim, they need to openly communicate with the players so that we all know exactly how hard they're working.
Doing it any other way simply isn't good enough from my perspective.

Granted, not every player is going to have useful suggestions for the game.
But when there are players who have a valid complaint or concern, their voices should be heard. And once the GM's have the information, then they need to use it.

If Aeria can start putting as much energy into taking suggestions and putting them to use as they put into Tiered Events and AP sales, then the game will start being the way it should be.


I'd like to hear from the rest of the community and see what your thoughts are on this.  

I think the GM's are doing a great job keeping up with the community. They have been more active than ever. On forums and in-game. Don't forget they have been buffing everyone on the server recently. They do come on server and talk to players and spawn monsters here and there.  

Lol @ 2 weeks gone and that means GMs have left us. Ever heard of vacation/time off work?

@ OP - Aeria can't fix bugs. You don't do programming, neither does Aeria. They can definitely be more aggressive about bug fixes, but ultimately the developers choose what they're gonna fix and when. You have been here long enough to know that. Obviously the devs don't have the bugs you mentioned as a priority.

Item mall is controlled by Aeria, of course they can change it at will. They can't control the developers, never have been able to. Most publishers are in the same boat. Developers will always have the majority of control of their games.

I agree that there are some changes to be made but point your finger in the right direction. Most of the things you're talking about fall under the PM not the GMs.

I just keep reporting. Hopefully the PM and developers will take the information we give them and be aggressive with it.

As far as suggestions, that's all they are... suggestions. They can choose to implement them or not; they are not obligated to, particularly if it doesn't fit with whatever plans there are in place.  

faely wrote:

Lol @ 2 weeks gone and that means GMs have left us. Ever heard of vacation/time off work? @ OP - Aeria can't fix bugs. You don't do programming, neither does Aeria. They can definitely be more aggressive about bug fixes, but ultimately the developers choose what they're gonna fix and when. You have been here long enough to know that. Obviously the devs don't have the bugs you mentioned as a priority. Item mall is controlled by Aeria, of course they can change it at will. They can't control the developers, never have been able to. Most publishers are in the same boat. Developers will always have the majority of control of their games. I agree that there are some changes to be made but point your finger in the right direction. Most of the things you're talking about fall under the PM not the GMs. I just keep reporting. Hopefully the PM and developers will take the information we give them and be aggressive with it. As far as suggestions, that's all they are... suggestions. They can choose to implement them or not; they are not obligated to, particularly if it doesn't fit with whatever plans there are in place.

I am pointing my finger in the right direction.
Right now I'm on Aeriagames.com. I play Last Chaos, which is brought to us by Aeria Games. So guess what? When there's a bug or a glitch, or I have a problem with the way the game runs, I'm going to blame the people who put their name on the game.
Why? Because that's logical. It's not like the developers contacted Aeria and said "Hey guys, we have this game called Last Chaos and we'll just give it to you for free so you can make money off of it".

If all you want to do is report and hope that something happens, then by all means.
But I'm not going to waste my time doing what you and many others have been doing for the past 6 years. I'm going to stick it to the people responsible.

Aeria put their name behind all of this and created suggestion forums and all of that specifically so that the players can bring this kind of stuff to their attention.
I'm not even saying that programming is done in their offices, so please don't misconstrue my point.
My overall point is that Aeria is responsible for what happens in the game. Period.
You have been here long enough to know that.