Payday 3 has not had the smoothest of launches, with PCG’s Tyler Colp discovering some positives within the newest instalment of Starbreeze’s heist-em-up, however concluding that a lot of it “wants a rework.” Gamers had been equally unimpressed with components just like the development system, the always-online requirement mixed with matchmaking woes, numerous stability points after which the cherry on high: a “crucial error in our backend” that delayed the discharge of the primary patches significantly.
The upshot? Over 36,000 “Combined” Steam opinions, solely 40% of that are optimistic, and a playerbase that appears like a fraction of what Payday 2 had going. On the time of writing just below 30,000 individuals are enjoying Payday 2, whereas 605 are enjoying Payday 3. Starbreeze is in hassle with this sport and appears to have been caught utterly off-guard by the sheer negativity of the response. It is a type of issues the place gamers who love Payday 2 actually love Payday 2, so the sequel’s points are seen by some as virtually an affront.
So what is the plan? Effectively, we do not know but, however the plan is unquestionably to give you a plan. Over to Starbreeze:
“We’re properly conscious that lots of you are not glad with the sport the way in which it’s in its present state,” says a brand new blogpost credited to Almir Listo (model director and neighborhood lead) and the Payday 3 group. “Since launch, we have been studying your beneficial suggestions [which] helps us massively and is essential to the continued improvement of Payday 3.”
Listo says that “we have put collectively a strike group of veteran builders from the design, neighborhood, communication and manufacturing groups with the give attention to bringing Payday 3 as much as the place it should meet your expectations.
“This group is presently making a plan, deciding what is going to form the sport into the heisting expertise you anticipate from a PAYDAY sequel in each the quick & long run.”
There’s undoubtedly one thing amusing a few heist sport assembling a grizzled crew of old-timers for One Final Job, and I reached out to ask Starbreeze about the primary issues it’s centered on, and who these veterans are. What are the first complaints that Starbreeze is worried about and intends to handle?
“We’re presently two completely different classes of suggestions: our function upvote web page and the enter from our neighborhood in our social media channels and boards,” mentioned a Starbreeze rep. “We will discuss extra intimately about what particular enhancements we want to do once we talk our roadmap in February. However on the whole it comes right down to server and matchmaking expertise, person expertise and our gamers’ requests for options and enhancements.
“We won’t be able to do every little thing without delay, and it’s important to conduct a realism test on a number of the function requests. However with this initiative we need to be certain that we correctly examine what we are able to do, how, and when.”
So not an unlimited quantity extra element, however gamers will not less than be happy by the final areas of focus. Starbreeze would not point out the development system, which is the topic of monumental neighborhood ire nonetheless, but when the studio actually is listening then that little phrase “person expertise” might show essential for Payday 3’s future prospects.
As for the veteran heist crew assembled for one final grizzled job, I requested who they had been and the place they got here from.
“Throughout the fall and winter we performed a autopsy with an exterior celebration that, along with the sentiment of our neighborhood, have led us to a transparent understanding of what we have to do,” mentioned Starbreeze. “The employees included within the strike group is put collectively primarily based on these findings and are a mixture of Payday 3/2 veterans in addition to employees members from different tasks that present their experience from engaged on video games in comparable conditions at different studios.”
Starbreeze says to anticipate concrete particulars in February someday, when “we’ll talk a plan detailing the upcoming enhancements and when you’ll be able to anticipate to see them within the sport.” Whether or not this will likely be sufficient to drag Payday 3 out of what appears like a little bit of a tailspin stays to be seen, however not less than getting the outdated gang again collectively is thematically acceptable.
