In all of the time that I've been playing this game and interacting in this community, I've heard a lot of people say a lot of negative of things about Decipher. I've seen people be angry about rulings, card distributions, late releases, lack of Web site updates, product development, information release, BBS regulations, scheduling of tournaments, prize support, errata, lack of errata, and the color of the sky. You name it and I think I've probably seen someone complain about Decipher's role in it. Unfortunately, Decipher deals with a product that can evoke some highly emotional reactions - not only have people invested a great deal of time and money in this game, but this also a product connected directly with arguably the most beloved movie(s) of all time [ed note: Gone with the Wind, my favorite movie of all time, still holds the record for most tickets sold, but won't ever set any profit records since it was released in 1941 when a movie ticket was less than five cents]. One would think that after so many years in the game business and four years in the CCG business, they would have learned a thing or two about how to maximize customer satisfaction and minimize the flames of customer outrage. This latest hub- bub surrounding Special Edition, its release and the resulting strategies is simply a testament to the saying "you reap what you sow."
For whatever reason, Decipher has not yet learned the most basic of public relations lessons: silence is not an effective communications tool. When a difficult situation arises, Decipher's solution is generally to clam up and try to "weather the storm." Little do they realize that this makes them look unresponsive and unwilling to answer the very people who put their hard-earned money into their games. The most common fallacy that I've heard thus far is "Decipher doesn't owe us anything." Bullshit. Decipher owes its customers top quality products, first-rate customer service, excellent product support, and honest communication about product-related issues. To deliver anything less is to be open to criticism. This article is about what Decipher did wrong regarding Special Edition, and there's plenty of material for such a text.
I would have to say that the seeds of players' distrust of Decipher are first manifested in the belief that Decipher does not tell the truth about when its products are going to be released. The first expansion that I personally waited for was the much delayed Cloud City. That was my first lesson in how Decipher handled its releases. With Jabba's Palace, things were a little different — although we waited a long time for an actual date, the set came out as scheduled. The Jabba's Palace release led the SW:CCG masses to believe that we were through with inaccurate target release dates, but we allowed ourselves to be duped. This summer, we were told about the release of the Enhanced Premier Packs and its accompanying mains; we were also told that EPPs would be the next product released after Revised Hoth. As we waited and waited for news of actual release dates of Special Edition and the EPPs, it became clear that once again we believed Decipher and would be disappointed. It wasn't until Decipher gave us the November 18 date that we knew the EPPs would come sometime *after* SE. The simple fact is that by giving out misinformation, Decipher ruins its credibility. In my professional opinion, Decipher should work on giving its customers (players, distributors, and retailers) accurate information. After six expansions, two anthologies, and the OTSD, one would think that Decipher could properly gauge when its products would be ready for release with at least some degree of accuracy. Decipher has said that it is in the business of creating quality games, not in the business of guaranteeing release dates, but the company needs to learn to build customer confidence by telling them when to expect products.
As a graduate student, I read thousands of pages in a single semester, making it entirely possible that I don't remember every single thing that I read. With that small disclaimer out in the open, I will say that I have absolutely no recollection of Decipher telling us why on earth they switched to 30-pack booster boxes. Beakman and I scrimped and saved in order to be able to afford four and a half boxes each (plus 8 starters), yet I was still 28 cards short of the set and he was 18 cards short. In a total of nine boxes, we didn't even get a full set. There is absolutely no excuse for that - none at all. That's 286 rares, and *we didn't even get a full set*. In the single most infamous of our boxes, Beakman got three dark side Coruscants, two Jabba's Influences, and three Hit and Runs, but no mains. I didn't *need* five Leia's blasters, nor am I particularly thrilled with the three Col. Feyn Gospics. Rather than harping on this point, I will finish by saying that Decipher has some real explaining to do regarding the distribution of this set. With all of the accusations about Decipher inventing new ways to milk its loyal customers for money, one would think that they would at least offer an explanation for changing to a system that requires customers to buy more boxes, yet be less likely to finish a set.
As far as the manner in which Decipher released the set, I was very impressed up until the last week and a half. For several weeks, the articles and contests on the Decipher site built excitement and gave a small taste of what appeared to be an amazing set. Unfortunately, they kept a key set of information away from us when it was actually the one thing we truly wanted.....the rules. Despite that fact that rules of previous sets have been released before the set was available in stores, Decipher kept the new rules under wraps until the very end. Perhaps this wouldn't have been so bad if the world finalists didn't already have the rules. When leaks about the contents of the rules hit the masses, most notably the Tallon Roll errata, Decipher kept quiet and treated the players on the listserv as if they were completely unreasonable for wanting to know how or why these changes had been made. It was the "Decipher-knows-best" tactic that we had come to expect and distrust.
As for the actual set, Special Edition certainly was a mixed bag. While some of the card images were absolutely stunning, there were also a number of them that looked as if the characters or scenes were a claymation creation. Part of the appeal of this game is that the cards really *look* like the movie; it's just not cool when a picture looks like it's been pulled from a poorly designed computer game. Bossk in the Hound's Tooth is the most infamous, but take a look at some of the unique aliens for further examples. Before I really tear into the set, I think its only fair to say that there are probably a good number of solid strategies or substrategies that haven't yet been explored - now on to the cards.
Here in Gainesville, there a guy named Eric who made an excellent observation about Special Edition: Decipher took all that was cool about previous sets - especially Jabba's Palace - and manipulated it to serve another closely related purpose. We all thought that Bargaining Table was great, so now we have Rebel Fleet. Bacta Tank is always useful, so now we have Docking and Repair Facilities. Everyone loves Narshada Windchimes, so who wouldn't want All Wings Report In? I'm sure that the design team was busy doing other things, but they certainly didn't spend a whole lot of time giving us different, rare versions of cards we already have. Of course, they also didn't spend a whole lot of time creating the 19 different operatives, all of whom have similar or identical game text. Then there's the occupation/celebration cards and all of the space effects that have both light and dark side versions. Maybe I'd be more understanding about all of this if I thought that Decipher put all of that extra time into the playtesting process.
I don't pretend to know anything about Decipher's playtesting process. The only time players really ever hear about playtesting is right before a set comes out and everyone swears that their rumor about the new cards came right from a "friend" who's a playtester and has sworn them to silence. But I do know a little about pilot testing and field trials for new products [ed: anyone who wants to know about the field test requirements for an agri-chemical can e-mail me], and I know that the purpose of these processes is to detect potential strengths and weaknesses and to identify and eradicate inherent flaws and defects. So how the hell did Decipher miss the operatives? The first things I noticed when I paid any attention at all to the spoiler list were these power one, ability one characters who had great game test and dovetailed with one of the much ballyhooed objectives. The first deck that I put together all by myself the Friday before worlds, without any knowledge of what the finalists were doing in Virgina was an Eriadu Operative deck that took the Gainesville tourney scene by surprise. The reason for this isn't that I'm a deck-building genius; it's because I'm literate enough to know phrases like "force drain +1" and "adds one battle destiny" and "power +1 (+2 if a something is on whatever planet)". If a SW:CCG peon such as myself could figure out the power of the operatives, why is it that the almighty Decipher didn't see this coming? How is it that the gods of game design in whom we have been told to place our blind faith and trust missed the operatives? It's a sure sign of sloppy work, faulty design procedures, and inadequate testing. It is my firm belief that had Decipher given Moff Phrim, ZippydaJedi, OCF, GAWD, and any member of the Listserv Boys' Club just an hour or two with the cards, half of the embarrassing problems could have been avoided. As it stands, the experts let us down.
I'll spare you the laundry list of everything else I took issue with - be assured that I hate the X- Wings on steroids, the "new rules" that seem to be raising more questions than they answer, the trend toward total immunity to attrition, and the new, pathetic stature of star destroyers all irritate the crap out of me. I'll also leave my observations about Decipher's handling of the operative situation for another article, but rest assured there will be one.
Before the release of SE, I would have said that Dagobah was the worst expansion thus far - I think that it had truly negative impacts on game play and deck design (as well as the objectionable fact that there were TWO light side characters). While it's too early to declare SE Dagobah's successor, I would have to say that I've never seen a set have such a negative impact on the morale of the community. This time Decipher has really screwed up, and this time "trust us" just won't work.
Queen Jawa