I understand the frustrations some people have, and I welcome any criticism of the game in its appropriate threads. My only concern is if off-topic posts and thread hijacking are disrupting what could be a more productive forum. If there's a way to moderate comments so off-topic posts are moved to their own thread that would make everyone happy unless the intent is to hijack the thread.
I notice the same users repeating questions that are already addressed by my posts and their own. I welcome the traumaip to review the progression of his own comments:
traumaip post 1:
"Thanks so much guys for a freaking AWSOME game man im in love with it.
Can you guys comment at all about the walkoff homerun glitch?
And if not thats cool but then could you comment on the stolen..."
It sounds like he knows these are off topic, and is cool if I don't comment. So I give him the benefit of the doubt that he read the original post and replied.
traumaip post 2:
"I would like to thank you Brain for taking time to respond to my question on stolen bases."
I thought that was it, but sometime later post 3 comes to beat the dead horse again. I reiterate what's already been posted with clarification.
traumaip post 4:
"Well thank you for answering. It just becomes a problem for those who do like our season stats and franchise stats to be close to real.."
I understand these feelings, but that's all I know. The dead horse beating continues with post 5, and other people join in with their own protests. With post 6, I can't tell if a person who was in this thread from beginning to end remembers what he and I have posted earlier in the week. If I didn't reply to post 1, it sounds like he would have been very happy. Ironically this phenomenon seems to be isolated to issues I don't know anything about.
Everyone's frustrations must be based on valid reasons, and I play the game as much as anyone else. I have my own criticisms of the game, but the difference is I don't belabor them in public and just focus on solutions.
I've been playing games for years, and I know the feeling of being so close to the experience I wanted. I go back and play some of them years later and find I'm best off enjoying what I enjoy. I'll play Civ 2 when I want real gameplay, but go to Civ 4 when I want a more visually immersive experience. I wish they'd take the gameplay of Civ 2 and apply it to Civ 4 graphics, but that won't happen so I choose accordingly and game happily without regrets. I've played thousands of games I wish I could match up, and a lot of that goes into how I develop my areas.
It goes without saying that I'm not a spokesman or customer support. If Sony wanted to give marketing and not actual practical information, they certainly wouldn't have chosen a programmer. We have commercials and demos to sell games, I'm here to help people who already have it and gain some understanding. It's my hope that the most useful information is shared elsewhere over time.