I would rather see 7D2D end an alpha with the vast majority of it's alpha player base not leaving pissed off feedback that affects the sales and longevity of the game.
Fun yes. Irresponsible? No.
You could go gold with an Alpha player base tone of: "There were a lot of bumps along the way, but TFP really gave a crap about the game and it's players! Ended up with an awesome game! TFP rocks!"
You could go gold with an Alpha player base tone of: "There were a lot of bumps along the way, but TFP didn't really give a damn. They did what they wanted and even their moderators made fun of their player base as a whole. Save the die hard fanboys and girls who were just as trollish. We got a decent game, but don't expect TFP to give a damn."
Which way do you think the whole Emoji and the amusement towards how people took it is going to go in these scenarios?
How do you think one scenario will sell as opposed to the other scenario?
If you've not seen game companies, or any company, tank because of public perception, you've got yer head in the sand friend.
You really think that the few forum users hoodwinked by this hoax have a noticable effect on steam ratings? And that the same forum users will remember the usual frency before an alpha release years later and post about the moderator not being serious enough for their taste?
No, I don't remember any game company tank because of public perception even though they had a good product. Can you name a few? I only know of a few with a bad product tank and I know of some who tanked because they didn't get the publicity, i.e. scarcely anyone knew them.
Oh, but I know of several who made lots of cash despite negative percption: Electronic Arts f**** its customers any which way they could think of and Fifa is still an undisputed top seller. But yes, their words are always polished and carefully crafted.
And did you see the ♥♥♥♥ storm over No Man's Land? They were still the top seller on steam for weeks and months after release (as far as I remember)
And concerning steam reviews, here are two steam reviews I found immediately that show that developers just can't do the right thing anyway:
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This game is terrible I do not reccomend this game. I bought this game thinking it would be like Dayz. It is not like Dayz at all. I hate this game. this game has ruined my relationship with my younger brother. I do not understand why they would make this game look so simple yet be very hard. I am very upset with this game. I would request a refund. but I hate this game so much I want them to keep my money out of spite.
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Game crashes randomly and ♥♥♥♥s my pc* ♥♥♥♥ this game I'm going to go play rust instead.
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Ok, there were a lot of complaints about abandonware on steam, seemingly half of them from players with upwards of 500 hours of playing time.
If you just look at the "recent reviews" rating on steam, think about who is writing these reviews when Version 1.0 gets released. Think about what they would possibly know about the game, the forum and its moderator!