Quote Originally Posted by Whacker
If by "update" you mean patch, then yes, I share this optimism.

However, the community blogs and updates (as in press release type communications, not patches) are a double-edged sword. By and large people expect results, not words. In short, we want the fixes, not flowery prose about how well it's proceeding and it'll be here "soon". Too much of this will only server to annoy people and darken the mood more. The recent post by Shogun was, imo, a bit of both. There was some empty lameness to it, but the description about charge mechanics was great, and exactly what quite a few people have been clamoring for. Real, meaningful community interaction goes miles for improving relations and the overall "mood" imo. Lame, empty, hollow, intangible, and insubstantial "Things are going great expect great stuff soon" statements only serve to aggravate.

FYI, I have long been a reader of the .org and have always approved of your pointy hat. Perhaps it is time to accessorize? Ever consider a popcorn bucket?
I know my post is off-topic, but I just wanted to reply to your comment regarding "lame, empty, hollow, intangible, and insubstantial things", Whacker.

Giving a tangible release date is paramount to disaster. Ask every mod team regarding a release date and they'll say "when it's done", even when the mod is released the very next day! A smart thing to do, for if you missed your date, you will have hordes of fans, screaming bloody murder "WHY????".

I know the folks at the .ORG are sensible people and wouldn't curse CA for 10 generations in 7 languages if they missed a date, but the majority at the .COM forums would be spamming the board to hell. Imagine a new buyer (or soon-to-be-buyer) walks in and notices all those whiney threads and decides that CA is "le suck" ... So, I agree with CA's philosophy: Give info, DON'T give an EXACT date. The very fact that they bothered to explain the Cavalry-charge mechanism gets two thumbs up from me. We all know plenty of other examples where the Devs don't say a word to the community.