Where your issue lies I think is why the Pavie takes precedence over other advertised projects. Without knowing how BAS is organised and how it operates, it is rather presumptious to assume that for some reason the Pavie has been given priority. Remember, the BAS team is stretched across continents, time zones, operate in variety of cultures and each distinct and different real life responsibilities that are all juggled to give the top quality addons you enjoy for free. Overcoming this immense difficulties we still deliver consistent quality to the community, often in the face of incredible displays of immaturity and lack of appreciation by members of the community.
Of course - that's understood and appreciated. I think, though, that ultimately BAS wouldn't meet such a hostile attitude if there was a bit more information from within. Obviously frequent status reports and things are out of the question, but perhaps something as simple as stating where each addon is in the production process would be sufficient to quieten the critics (amongst whom, I must add, I don't count myself).
Short answer....I have been working on the Pavie...it will be finished soon...the Desert Pack being worked on by another team...needs more work. It is unfortunate that you don't appreciate that delivering any addon is a large undertaking in itself, however, if the Pavehawks timing is not suitable to your liking, I'm afraid there is very little we can do about it. We all need to work adn support or families and such and cannot devote our time to OFP 100%.
Of course, and I'm not disputing that (I can't speak for others, of course, who have made some quite unreasonable demands). I think the whole point is that the comparative lack of information gives the
impression that there is some sort of priority system, which as you say is obviously not the case.
If we do appear snide it is simply because we grow tired of being publically chastised for decisions, timings, ideals, etc. when all we are trying to do is give to the community....share with the community the fruits of our labour...the fruits produced from our love for this game and our desire to see the scope increased with our units and maps.
Agreed, and certainly all the BAS addons I've seen have been of unparallelled quality, all far surpassing BIS' stuff. That's why I'm trying to show where that reputation (amongst certain groups) has come from, since it's a shame that such a great addon team allows itself to develop a bad reputation by responding in such a defensive and - sometimes - hostile way to most feedback, rather than saving it for the critics who have to limit themselves to unfounded rudeness (for whatever reason).
Enough said I think. The unfortunate thing about the Internet is that it is like giving everyone a printing press and saying you can print whatever you want. What people don't realise, is that their opinion is not always the most valuable out there....nor do others necessarily want to read what they have to type. You say it's your right to voice your opinion...fine....it's also ours to either value it or dismiss it.
Referring to my comment above, was that comment intended as a general statement, or with reference to my comments specifically? Either way, that is precisely what I mean.
People in the community need to feel that their opinions are valued (or, if they're the people who post flamebait just for fun or out of jealousy because they can't make addons that measure up to your standard), they need to be told to sod off. But at the moment, the default reply from BAS seems to be telling people to sod off. You can't expect to avoid a bad reputation when the slightest criticism is met by such a torrent of vitriol because you're getting fed up. All you need to do is reply to each comment on its individual merits rather than flaring up, and I think BAS' reputation would improve considerably. Add to that, perhaps, a simple statement under the progress bars on the website - "planning", "scripting", "skinning" and whatnot - so people know what's happening, and the critics who just have a grudge against you wouldn't have a leg to stand on!
I'm posting this for one reason only: I've read a lot of comments on several forums, where BAS is getting a lot of flak for being "unhelpful" and "rude". Initially, this was unfounded, but I'm very disappointed to see possibly the best addon team around being criticised for something they could so easily do something about.
I guess the moderators must be getting fed up with this discussion now, so if you like we could take it to PM. I don't want to start a flame war, I just want to stop seeing BAS shoot itself in the foot.