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Dec-23-2010 13:15

I have been talking to other sleuth players and we feel the same about how admin has abandoned us.

We see that a lot of time is now being dedicated to shades as if we no longer exist...

Also as paying customers I feel we desire a little of your attention. Replace the Villian hunt league..that was interesting..now we can only get competition going if someone starts a quest...

So look out for your first babies...We deserve some of your attention too..

Dec-24-2010 09:39

I'm not entirely sure the title here is fitting, but I, too, am feeling a bit (or more than a bit, truth be told,) like there's been a buildup of ennui and interest in other places and things. This is commendable in many respects (we certainly can't and do NOT want to come before raising a child).

I do, though, have to say that I believe that this is a continuing problem that I can't help but believe can be allieveated in some better way. There are people galore who are more than willing to work on the problems of Sleuth, and we have certainly demonstrated that we have people who can think 'outside the box', so to speak. There MUST be a way to deal with this issue. Let's find it. Please??

Thank you.

Breit

Dec-24-2010 09:40

(P.S. -- Merry Christmas to you, Squirrel. Hope Santa sent you LOTS and LOTS of macadamias. B. ;-)

Dec-24-2010 10:38

LOL Squirrel!!! CLASSIC!!!!

Dec-26-2010 23:57

Merry Christmas to you all and let's keep this threat up (lol maybe Admin will post a reply here this way)

Dec-27-2010 04:22

threat/thread... how Freudian :)

Dec-27-2010 07:12

I'm not particularly happy about the title either. In my five years in Sleuth there was never a question of "admin vs. players", we've all always worked together to make the game what it is today, and it is still the best detective game on the Net. That's why we are still here. It doesn't mean that I don't have the feeling of being abandoned, which is shared by most long-time players. Like Breit, I feel that we should try to find a way out of the problem. Of course, it would only be possible with Ben's cooperation.

Dec-27-2010 07:35

First of all let me say this was not a slair to Ben or anyone in Admin..when I said admin vs. players I was referring to what was being said by the players. I like Ben too...I think he's great, but in reality they have been very active on shades and not on noir..

I creataead a character there also and I see the attention that is being given to shades...all I am saying is noir was there first game and it was great..we had the villain league and it was good...you got to participate in all sorts of competitions..

Now there is virtually nothing going on..I play basically daily and other then working cases there seems to be nothing to do..

admin vs. players was geared to the lack of attention on noir..not the mentality or any rudeness directed to admin..but players have been talking about the attention admin has been giving to shades...

So if admin thinks this was a slair to them please accept my apologies...but I still feel strongly about admin perking up noir and making it more fun again..everyone doesnt like shades...some still love noir..

Dec-27-2010 08:22

I really don't think there's any need for you to apologize, Amira, I'm sure the admins will understand that your intention was to catch their eye, not to attack. Nor was mine to attack you, I just felt that the title was perhaps a little bit too "strong".

I also don't think that it's a case of "Noir vs. SOM". I have a detective there too, and I notice that compared to Noir it's a much less "finished" game. It needs much more work to become fully developed, so I suppose it's understandable that Ben is devoting more time to it. Understandable, but not a big consolation for us Noir players :).

The idea of implementing arch-villain tournaments in the game is old, and I still think it's very good. Let's hope Ben will consider it again.

Dec-27-2010 11:53

I would LOVE to see more features to BOTH (I love and play both-though a bit bored with Shades)!

BUT I think we can EASILY overlook all the work it takes to take care of all the server issues, write all the code, solve all the problems to bring new features that people are wanting (I'm sure he wants them running pretty free of bugs before he/they deliver them to the game) not to mention just trying to up keep what is already running, work a job, keep a wife happy, care for a baby and I'm assuming he still has to change lightbulbs and take out the garbage! (I assume he's not getting rich off of these two games.)

If they give more time to SoM (Shades) it's probably because it's the bigger money maker and that's just wise business sense.

Again, I am kinda impatient for new features but I'm just throwing out what I'm guessing is the other side of the equation. If I don't think Sleuth keeps up to my expectations, I can drop my subscription (actually did in SoM till they get new features).

I totally feel everyone's frustration as I feel the same thing but just kinda wanted to look at it from another perspective!

Jan-12-2011 17:54

I can't deny the fact that I spend less time adding content to Noir in 2010 than I had in any year since the 2004 launch.

On the other hand, the amount of time I've been able to invest in Noir has ebbed and flowed a bit in the past, and it is my intention to continue to expand the game as long as there is an interested player base.

It's not really accurate to say that we are neglecting Noir in favor of Shades, however, because I have not been able to spend nearly as much time enhancing Shades as I wanted either (I spent less time on Shades in 2010 than I did in 2009).

Hypoware is not my (or anybody's) full time job. In fact, currently it would be more accurate to describe Hypoware as a hobby that brings in a bit more money than it costs to run (if barely). That's fine by me. As I've said in the past, I do still love publishing Sleuth. I've got a lot of my own creative energy tied up in these games, and a fair amount of ego. But, the reality for now is that my Sleuth time is subservient to the rest of my busy life. I have a family and a demanding day job (I'm the lead developer at a company called Mindbloom).

A few years ago, the future of Sleuth looked wide open. I was officially working half-time on Hypoware, Sunny was contributing on a more regular basis, and we had a realistic hope for making this into a feasible business. We launched the Shadow of the Villains expansion in fall 2006 and then spent all of 2007 and early 2008 developing Shades of Mystery.

The plan was to build a business around Noir and Shades and then look at additional ways of expanding the franchise. The rationale was: even if we were dividing our time between more than one game, the expanded player base and revenue would allow us to bring much more time and attention to each individual game.

As things worked out, I'm now spread a little thin.