Why has Pinball FX3 become so bad supported?

[Linne_Zen]

We are sorry to hear that. Recently, we made fixes for Xbox, PS4, Win10, and Switch, and we plan to continue this effort. On Reddit, there were many occasions when we warned people for inappropriate behavior (or our moderators did it), but there might be some cases, that went unnoticed. Please let me know if you saw anything like this.

We are constantly working on new projects, Star Wars Pinball VR will launch next week, and Pinball FX is also planned for 2021 with many new contents and updated physics for all tables. I hope you will like it.

[KieferSkunk]

With all due respect, Linne, why do we only hear from you once a month? And why did it take FOUR months to get a set of really minor bug fixes out onto consoles (e.g. bumpers in Medieval Madness) when they'd already been out on PC that whole time? I know it doesn't take anywhere near that long.

Let alone the fact that there are still several game-breaking bugs that to my knowledge haven't even been acknowledged - the worst one being the Mix Master turntable in Dr. Dude, which makes that game basically unplayable when it stops working.

It's understandable if the bug that causes that is so hard to find or fix that it's taking a while, or even that you might consider it not worth fixing. Just TELL us what's going on.

The fact that we only hear from you once a month and it's nearly always some form of "We'll look at that", "We're working on new stuff", or something else that is generally boilerplate, is what's driving your fans away.

[tfhfony]

I haven't booted PinballFX3 anymore for a few months either. It's a shame how Farsight & ZEN have been able to kill all fun of playing Pinball on consoles.
I've bought all ZEN & Farsight tables twice. First on my WiiU, and again on my PS4. And I sure as hell ain't gonna pay for them again. I didn't buy the last two Williams packs anymore either. I refuse to pay money to a company that discrespects pinball and disrespects its users in such a blatant manner.
I've ended up with a censored game with various bugs and a non-communicative company that seems to think that all is fine since they already have my money,

On the forums you also only get a "We will look into that!" kind of replays, followed by months of silence. And as soon as the questions are a bit harder, ZEN will give an ear-deffening silence. Or at best a "Oops we're sorry and we will look into that", followed by a big nothing.

Not that ZEN will care, but I haven't spent a dime on their last products and won't spend any in the future either. I'll happily spend my money on a company that does care about its userbase.

[Linne_Zen]

With all due respect, Linne, why do we only hear from you once a month? And why did it take FOUR months to get a set of really minor bug fixes out onto consoles (e.g. bumpers in Medieval Madness) when they'd already been out on PC that whole time? I know it doesn't take anywhere near that long.

Let alone the fact that there are still several game-breaking bugs that to my knowledge haven't even been acknowledged - the worst one being the Mix Master turntable in Dr. Dude, which makes that game basically unplayable when it stops working.

It's understandable if the bug that causes that is so hard to find or fix that it's taking a while, or even that you might consider it not worth fixing. Just TELL us what's going on.

The fact that we only hear from you once a month and it's nearly always some form of "We'll look at that", "We're working on new stuff", or something else that is generally boilerplate, is what's driving your fans away.

Fixes for different platforms require different types of resources and time. Still being a relatively small company, the management of these resources are critical for us, but as I always tell you, I forward all the bugs to the developers.

We plan to continue the support of Pinball FX3 with fixes, along with many of our games.

The bug on the Dr. Dude table is really hard to reproduce, we will see what we will be able to do with it.

[KieferSkunk]

As I've said before, I realize you're a small company, but I don't accept that (a) that's an excuse to go whole months without talking to your customers, or (b) that it means you can't compile and submit code fixes to common console publishers in a timely manner.

Okay, some bugs are hard to reproduce. We get that. If you had just come out and said that, I'm sure more of us would have been more understanding about it. But some were clearly solved on one platform, but then took months to release on other platforms even though they were almost certainly very simple fixes. And in all that time, we heard next to nothing from the company.

I also think it speaks poorly of you when you have abusive users on your Reddit forum actively driving other people off, as I saw happen to one person there, and your moderators do nothing about it. I had considered signing up for Reddit so I could participate in the conversation, but after seeing that happen, I decided I had better ways to spend my time.

Unfortunately, this kind of thing is all too common with companies that were once great and have since faded into mediocrity.

You can do better than that.

[KieferSkunk]

I will also add that I realize being in customer service is a difficult job. I've done it, and I know it can be awfully demoralizing to have to deal with people who only complain. I can't speak for everyone here, of course, but at least for myself, this is (I hope) constructive criticism. I like your product, and I want to keep supporting it. But it's hard to get enthused about it or the next big thing when there's basically nothing to go on.

As a small company, you're in a better position than a big one to show your obviously passionate fans that you really care about them. But what I'm seeing, and evidently what others see as well, is that you've all but fallen off the radar, and that gives a negative impression about either your company's stability or about how much you actually care about your customers.

I'm sure you do care at least somewhat. Show us. We're not asking for perfection. We're just asking for a little more engagement, and a little more honesty.

[Linne_Zen]

Thanks for your detailed feedback! For more information, you can also join our Discord channel and follow our social media platforms, as we share everything there. (Sales, bugfixes and other pinball-related stuff) You can join our Discord server here: https://discord.gg/rRRBB7x8zS

[KieferSkunk]

That is exactly the kind of boilerplate reply that tells your customers you couldn't be bothered to actually read or care about what they said.

Good bye. You've lost me permanently.

[Linne_Zen]

I am sorry to hear that. I just tried to direct you to a platform, where you can contact us in a more direct way, like on Discord. I have read all your comments. Regarding the Reddit situation, we are following the subreddit rules, and although there is a possibility that you can't see the results of each inappropriate behaviour, we give out warnings privately too. We are continuously tracking the bugs on multiple platforms, and as Mel mentioned, we are planning a big patch where we can sort many out, however currently, I don't have any information when this could happen. I hope, I was able to address most of your questions.

[KieferSkunk]

Well, given what I've seen on Reddit in general, and your Subreddit in particular, I'm not inclined to sign up there just so I can interact. Not really keen on getting run off the discussion by someone who thinks he owns the place. And my experience with Discord communities is that they almost always end up just being a bunch of fans talking about unrelated things all the time. Perhaps yours is different.

But if those are your preferred channels for customer contact, perhaps you might consider just shutting this forum down and redirecting the link to your Discord and Subreddit, so that people don't waste their time here?

[overall_fanatic]

I am sorry to hear that. I just tried to direct you to a platform, where you can contact us in a more direct way...

I started FX3 on the PS4 after a long time. Nothing, really nothing happend. No patches, no updates. You have a good platform here ... and there was a few questions above asked here. Why directing to another platform??? Why not answering here?

The fact is : In the past the support was good, in some parts great - for your small company. Now we only find this kind of

the kind of boilerplate reply

like "we'll fix it soon, we soon bring you this, we are working on it, we will discuss that in our next meeting...." blablabla....

Fact is - nothing happend for a really long time! And what's more frustrating - the information you gave in the last ~15 month.

In the end we look at the things you offer - and that is not very much in this time!

[KieferSkunk]

I just tried to direct you to a platform, where you can contact us in a more direct way, like on Discord.

The thing is, the most direct way we could contact you would be via an email address or a Contact Us form on your website. I couldn't find one. The next step is usually the company's own dedicated forum. Sadly, many companies have forums but don't monitor or maintain them anymore, and in Zen's case, the responses are few and far between, without much explanation. Reddit is becoming a de facto secondary forum for companies, but in many ways that can be worse than a company-specific, self-hosted forum, especially given how much "cadre-ism" there is there. And I don't really trust Discord as a means of contact.

Again, "We are a small company" explains lack of staff, but if that lack of staff means lack of timely support, you really should consider making a more blanket announcement about this rather than just giving us the impression that you only check the forum once a week/month.

I appreciate that you've read our comments. I hope they will lead to a better experience for both you and for your customers. Trust me, at least for my part, we're not here to just complain about how terrible things are. We think this is a great game and a good platform. The fact that you have people like us being persistent about staying in contact speaks volumes about how passionate and enthusiastic your customers and fans are about the work you do. As such, we want to be a part of improving it.

The thing that upsets me is when we have to jump through a lot of hoops just to find a way to contact you at all, and then we have to wait a very long time to get any sort of response that at least hints that you might address what we've said. Personally, I'd be happy with a response saying "We are heads down on our new platform and won't be able to investigate or fix these bugs right away", but for the most part I don't recall seeing that. Such a comment, while not necessarily what a lot of us want to hear (everyone of course wants "We'll fix that right away" or "Here's a new patch"), it at least lets us know that you're actually listening and considering our messages. Boiler-plate replies such as "Thanks for the detailed feedback! Contact us somewhere else!" and "We'll look at that in the next meeting" can easily just be copy-pasted without actually saying anything useful, and it often makes us feel ignored and put off.

Like I said, if the issue is that you're short-staffed and you don't have the time or resources to get to the things we're asking for support on, just say so. Be honest. I realize it'll put some people off, but many of us will understand the situation better and, at least for me, be more willing to cut you some slack for it - especially if it inspires some belief that the new platform you're working on will either not have these bugs and glitches, or at least that they'll be easier for you to address. (No game is ever perfect.)

Thanks for listening. I really do hope you'll take this to heart. I do urge you to consider becoming more engaged with this forum again, or closing it and auto-redirecting people to your preferred channels of communication so at least it's clear where we can interact with you better. Up to you, of course, but perhaps doing that will reduce your support burden.

[MAYAman]

Lol

Let me get this... You get angry because other people (a team of developers) do not provide you with fresh entertainment?
That is what makes you angry? And what exactly is your contribution?

Money, simple. SMH

[MAYAman]

Thanks for your detailed feedback! For more information, you can also join our Discord channel and follow our social media platforms, as we share everything there. (Sales, bugfixes and other pinball-related stuff) You can join our Discord server here: https://discord.gg/rRRBB7x8zS

Discord and social media is a nightmare as it's just a snipet in time and then poof it's gone down the chain. In an online forum you have an easily searchable archive of questions, responses, announcements, etc. I for one don't understand the allure of Discord. I have it for my other hobbies and it's a huge pain in the ass with all the real time spamming and the way topics get lost. Don't have any idea how that took over from online forums from official sites. SMH

Us old timers will continue to use this forum and be out of the loop I guess.

[MAYAman]

Ding ding ding we have a winner!

The thing is, the most direct way we could contact you would be via an email address or a Contact Us form on your website. I couldn't find one. The next step is usually the company's own dedicated forum. Sadly, many companies have forums but don't monitor or maintain them anymore, and in Zen's case, the responses are few and far between, without much explanation. Reddit is becoming a de facto secondary forum for companies, but in many ways that can be worse than a company-specific, self-hosted forum, especially given how much "cadre-ism" there is there. And I don't really trust Discord as a means of contact.

Again, "We are a small company" explains lack of staff, but if that lack of staff means lack of timely support, you really should consider making a more blanket announcement about this rather than just giving us the impression that you only check the forum once a week/month.

I appreciate that you've read our comments. I hope they will lead to a better experience for both you and for your customers. Trust me, at least for my part, we're not here to just complain about how terrible things are. We think this is a great game and a good platform. The fact that you have people like us being persistent about staying in contact speaks volumes about how passionate and enthusiastic your customers and fans are about the work you do. As such, we want to be a part of improving it.

The thing that upsets me is when we have to jump through a lot of hoops just to find a way to contact you at all, and then we have to wait a very long time to get any sort of response that at least hints that you might address what we've said. Personally, I'd be happy with a response saying "We are heads down on our new platform and won't be able to investigate or fix these bugs right away", but for the most part I don't recall seeing that. Such a comment, while not necessarily what a lot of us want to hear (everyone of course wants "We'll fix that right away" or "Here's a new patch"), it at least lets us know that you're actually listening and considering our messages. Boiler-plate replies such as "Thanks for the detailed feedback! Contact us somewhere else!" and "We'll look at that in the next meeting" can easily just be copy-pasted without actually saying anything useful, and it often makes us feel ignored and put off.

Like I said, if the issue is that you're short-staffed and you don't have the time or resources to get to the things we're asking for support on, just say so. Be honest. I realize it'll put some people off, but many of us will understand the situation better and, at least for me, be more willing to cut you some slack for it - especially if it inspires some belief that the new platform you're working on will either not have these bugs and glitches, or at least that they'll be easier for you to address. (No game is ever perfect.)

Thanks for listening. I really do hope you'll take this to heart. I do urge you to consider becoming more engaged with this forum again, or closing it and auto-redirecting people to your preferred channels of communication so at least it's clear where we can interact with you better. Up to you, of course, but perhaps doing that will reduce your support burden.

Spot on!