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WGT Nico's thoughts on 2022

• WGTNico 650 Posts

  Tue, Jan 3 2023 12:38 PM

  Hey everyone,

  Now that we're in 2023, I wanna reflect back to 2022 a bit and talk about how I felt WGT did in 2022. I gotta start off by saying that this post is purely my opinion on how WGT went in 2022. Doing a sort of look back is something I always like doing anyways and figured I would share it with you all

  Overall I think this year for WGT was really great, by no means perfect however I do think there were a lot of impactful things done to WGT both big and small that were really positive to the game as a whole.

  Great:

  • average play-time is constantly around 40-50 minutes per user which is very healthy for a live service game
  • PGA National
  • better release notes talking about bug fixes on discord/forums. one of the biggest complaints on our reviews and talking to you all was that we're updating every month and no one knows what we're actually doing outside of new apparel
  • match play on mobile!
  • charity initiatives: we couldn't do these things without you all (gamers outreach, dog paw balls, JDRF)

  Good

  • Goals & Achievements - this has been a great addition to the game and has helped engagement by quite a bit. giving players free things for playing the game. possibly most importantly, helping newer players get a better feel for the game with G&A to guide them. Only reason it's in good is because there were bugs associated with it.
  • improved competitive scene (live series, eTour LAN, USGA)
  • friends UI
  • Discord 

  Bad

  • G&A bugs - while G&A was still overall stable on release, there were quite a few bugs that really took the toll on myself and customer support with the amount of requests 
  • Facebook log-in issues in July/August
  • Leaderboardv2 - this was supposed to be the main feature coming out in the early part of 2022. It had to be pulled from the live part of the game and basically completely reworked from the ground up. It's still coming and hopefully should be fully fixed and bug free soon! It's a whole lot better than the current leaderboard
  • Not being as clear at times with what we're working on and what our priorities are and why those are our priorities in game
  • I definitely think I've struggled both on discord and the forums of not stepping in and breaking up arguments/debates when I should have. That's on me and I promise to improve and do better in preventing these issues from escalating
  • other bugs - bugs happen in every game and as much as we test, there are things that can always arise that we don't expect which is often what happens when newer bugs come out post updates. I definitely think/hope we can do better at preventing them and responding/fixing to them when they do come up
  • inconsistency on community streams - when the contract for patchnotes ended, I was supposed to step in an stream on a somewhat consistent basis. It's definitely something I did not deliver on and I never want to make any promises but I do think when we do community streams again, it's at a much higher production value than what we've done in the past

  Miscellaneous thoughts/statements

  • I know many of you may not have known him, but WGT R2G has recently left to pursue a full-time position in the world of esports and we wish him the best of luck. He really was that guy helping me out behind the scenes with giveaways, twitch streams, etc.
  • this is purely my opinion, but I kinda wish everyone's achievements started at 0. I definitely think it would have gotten a lot of complaints (justifiably so) if we did so, but I just really love the idea of the everyone starting on an even playing field and having it feel more like achievement grinding/hunting like other games do with achievements, trophies, battle passes, etc.
  • also backfilling of achievements was a major scale issue at release and if everyone started at 0 that wouldn't have been an issue, but the potential backlash of these things not being backfilled at all after years of playing many would feel like you'd be starting over and that would likely cause a larger uproar. So I definitely understand and respect the decision
  • one of the biggest things I learned this year and something that I think we are trying to do with WGT is when working on a live service game that's been around for a bit and successful, one of the scariest things to do is challenge a system that has been "working", and propose to change it, but that fear shouldn't block progress". Change is hard, but hopefully improves things long term. 
  • does this mean WGT needs to change fundamentally? No absolutely not, but if we sit and try to do just smaller changes then at a certain point the game will cause players to burnout and potentially leave. It's one of the main reasons I think G&A is successful even if it isn't something that 

• i1488 44 Posts

  Tue, Jan 3 2023 1:06 PM

  Is it possible for WGT to release these data:

  1) Gross and Net profit for 2022

  2) Number of employees, full-time and part-time, for 2022

  Is WGT a public company traded on stock exchange?  

  I'd love to invest if it is.

• TopShelf2010 10,929 Posts

  Tue, Jan 3 2023 1:22 PM

  Much Respect Nico

   

  Happy New Year

   

  Don

• beerstine 722 Posts

  Tue, Jan 3 2023 2:13 PM

  Thanks Nico for the comments and for your interaction with the players.  There's a lot more confidence that we're being heard since you got here and it's appreciated.  While Discord has some value, more should be done to direct players to the greater volume of institutional knowledge on these forums.

  I hope that as major changes are made in the future, that more effort is put into getting it right before the rollout, even if it delays some initiatives.  I'm sure you'd rather focus more on the big picture over daily bug quashing as well.

  As for livestreams, there are a number of good players doing videos on YouTube and Twitch independently, some who appeared with Patch as well.  Perhaps more coordination and promotion of those efforts can fill the gap if you can't do the streams yourself.

• jacktrade51 11,163 Posts

  Tue, Jan 3 2023 10:03 PM

  Thanks for the post.  First one like this from a WGT moderator in my 10 years in the game.  So I appreciate this.

  Comments, not necessarily in order of importance.

  Goals and achievements:  They are a big plus.  I recognize there have been some bugs in the roll out (and have filed some complaints with WGT member services) but is still a big plus.

  Alternate shot:  Consistently devalued.  WGT needs to correct the incentive for players to quit.  In Flash, one quit one lost, unless one persuaded opp to agree to end game.  Now players have figured to quit without consequences.  And no Goals and Achievements for AS.

  Discord:  I know many enjoy it.  Doesn't work in my house.  I'm divorced if my wife has to listen to me talk while I play.  So, it is irrelevant to me but I have no problem with WGT bringing it in-house.  In reference to verbal disputes in Discord, grrr.  I am reminded of a job I had 20 years ago in earlier day of Internet:  General Counsel of company said keep it letter quality or you are fired.

  PGA National: All new courses are great.  And a lot of us like a really easy course.  But when is the next new course?  A new set of tees on CB would be really cool if WGT filmed for that.  Also the promised regular course on Bandon never showed up.  (I know we have Bandon par 3, but I hate par 3 courses.)

  Mobile-PC play:  How close is WGT to solving that?

  Uneven lies:  Is that gone?  We have uneven lie specialists in my club who I am still carrying as members.  If WGT isn't bringing it back, we live with it.  But clarity is necessary.

  Finally, I am not going to complain about coin games and similar stuff.  But I would hope/pray WGT continues to care about those of us who like a real golf simulation, and value stroke play and AS.

  Tom.

   

• bossbird 2,231 Posts

  Wed, Jan 4 2023 1:00 AM

  Thanks Nico , good to see how much you interact with us the members and players. I personally see no value in discord , but appreciate your continued presence here. Onwards and upwards ! 

• craigswan 31,795 Posts

  Wed, Jan 4 2023 7:22 AM

  I definitely think I've struggled both on discord and the forums of not stepping in and breaking up arguments/debates when I should have. That's on me and I promise to improve and do better in preventing these issues from escalating. Personally i like a bit of debate . What is wrong with free speech . Too many good people moderated for not a lot .

• craigswan 31,795 Posts

  Wed, Jan 4 2023 1:49 PM

  I agree nico has helped this forum . After a little conversation with him i have cleaned up my act . He pointed out that everybody reading forums is not an adult and wgt t's and c's must comply with this . Fair enough .

• ScottHope 10,440 Posts

  Thu, Jan 5 2023 1:49 AM

  craigswan:

  He pointed out that everybody reading forums is not an adult...

  Nico said that?  Ouch!  : ))