Why I, a new player, am quitting already.

1. General chat is not for...talking? From Berserker himself: "general chat is not made for talking, it is made for short brief messages like announcements or questions"

Now...I'm not exactly the sharpest tool, but I think the whole point of general chat is to talk? Why is it 3 dollars for a general chat message? Why are the only ways to communicate globally to find these apparently rare horns or the few you get from quests? There are so many alternate ways you could have done this, yet when I bring it up I get shunned. Now on to my next point.

2. Public Rep, or PR if you're classy: I've done my fair share of browsing both new and old forum posts, and what I found was...disappointing to say the least. When people complain, like I am now, they get ignored or their words bent to make it easy to disprove them. I think I see people multiple times bringing up the same concerns I bring up, and then half of their argument is ignored and the other half is nit picked to make them look bad. Not to trash on them, because I've found myself agreeing so many times, but it's annoying to see staff and player alike basically just pushing aside the opinions and ideas of others.

4. The timer: Why do we lose all of our progress so quickly? With a game with a developing story, massive tech tree, several different victories, and constantly changing political (in the game) climate, why do we just...lose it all? Lose all of our progress? Even things we've put money towards? It feels awful seeing friends in my Alliance with 140+ days, knowing that I won't get to say good morning to them after that 150 day mark unless they make a new character and spend days researching up to the mission research.

5. Constant hate for the devs: I want to stress this again. It shouldn't be common for people to trash on the developers and their decisions, but I find myself doing it too. I see posts from years ago, with promises for fixes, promises for new features or the removal of other features. Then...here I am, years later with the same stuff. A community based game can't be something that you just...ignore the people on. We, and I include myself since I spent money on it, we the people are what should be listened to. I understand it's your game, but that doesn't mean we should be thrown out like trash. I even messaged Berserker in the game and got no response concerning the global chat. It's like there is a dev team, but there isn't any communication with the players besides 'our game, don't like it, get out'. This just isn't healthy guys, it really isn't.

6. In conclusion: I'm done with the game. I've spent a little over a week on it, and so far I have no reason besides the friends I've made to stay. It's obvious the developers don't really care if I stay or if I go, but it's getting hard to find a reason to even want to try if it's all for naught. So, consider this a goodbye for now. Unless I am convinced to return by any of my friends, but seeing as how accusatory I have been, and in my opinion, rightfully so, I wouldn't be surprised if I was banned or muted since I was giving input.

OK, I'm going there as none of the other old-timers have commented.  I have to say, well said Darrayder.  I have a lot of respect for so many, many peeps in the game and dev team.  But this comment captured the essence of most problems.  I'll probably be banned lol.

I've been here as has Syzen since Alpha 3 and before and like Syzen I have many players whom I respect and like and I have huge appreciation for the hard work of the development team.   But there seems to have been a disconnect that has developed.  I have seen players come and go and some long-time players leave in anger or frustration.   I really am sorry to see a new player so disappointed.  Darrayder came to me with his concerns not the other way around and I have to say it's been a long time since I've seen anyone reading the forum thoroughly enough to come to conclusions so quickly.  There have been improvements lately I have to say though.

That being said, however, I've said it before and I'll say it again. I'd like to see the disconnect eliminated or at least mitigated so the development team and the testers (that's what we are right?) can work together again.  We used to have a rapport and a certain level of comradery that I, for one, miss. 

Well, I'll be honest, I'm playing again solely because I want to play with my friends, and don't want my progress to be wasted. That said, it's a little bit sad to see no concern or communication from any of the development team regarding this post, and I've seen them post elsewhere so it's not like they haven't seen it. But that said, I'll hold as much respect for the devs as they hold for me, so, as of now, I think we know where that is. But I shall continue to play with my friends until I simply can't tolerate the lack of professionalism and respect that's been rather common from both sides of the board. Devs and players.