Dear DBD Devs

I'm not going to fill this with a big message of ridicule, insults, mocking the dev's competence, or anything. It would be easy to join in on the hate train, but no, that's not my goal. We have a major problem that needs to be addressed.

BHVR, there needs to be something done about communication.

There's the colorblind issue that people had been hounding the devs on for years, barely getting more than "we are aware." It's not until the incident with Almo that we're told that a colorblind mode had been in the works and demonstrations were shared.

Why? Why was this hidden? This is the type of thing that should be shared. It would both quell the anger of the fan base, give them something to look forward to, and even give a chance for feedback based on the demonstrations given.

Speaking of feedback, there are the UI changes from the PTB. Now, it's no secret that these changes are wildly unpopular and I imagine that is very demoralizing. It's something you put countless hours into designing, coding, testing—it's your creation that you take pride in, and hearing it being rejected hurts.

But why is the UI being changed? I have no idea. Why is it necessary? Did the UI have old code that was a hassle to work with? Did you feel that its style was outdated?

There's no communication going on! In fact, a better idea would be to share ideas/examples with the community and gather feedback during the process. Does the Community want a hook counter? Yes? Should both sides see it? What do they think?

Instead, an entirely new UI was made with all we're told is "big changes are coming!" and then get a PTB. No little prototype examples are given, questions what the community would like to see, or ANYHING despite this being a massive change that affects the entire playerbase.

Of course, there are the feedback and suggestion forums and I know opinions have been shared, but... I honestly do not feel like it matters. I don't and I shouldn't. I know there are times PTB feedback has made a difference yet I still feel like our voices aren't really heard and are ignored in favor of whatever vision the developers have, so changes are made despite the player base rather than because/for the player base.

Pop nerf - unpopular but still went through.

Aura change - disliked but still went through, leading to ANOTHER massive outcry until those got changed.

Billy rework - massively unpopular but still went through.

There are also examples of Killers who the community widely has a low opinion of such as Legion or Pig, but we're always told, "according to the statistics." Seemingly no effort is made to investigate why these low opinions even exist and wonder if there are any external factors.

Example: Nurse has a very low kill rate but everyone knows she's the best killer and also the hardest to play.

Are these factors considered? Which ones and how much? Are factors such as how enjoyable a killer is to play/verse considered even because I know many Legions who have multiple gripes with his power and survivors who hate versing a Spirit or Deathslinger yet both are untouched.

It can feel like talking to a wall! Are we heard? If so, can we get more updates? Which suggestions have you read, and of them, which ones are infeasible?

For example: I recommended Snap Out of It pause the DW timer, allowing more freedom to change the timer and help survivors not be in a situation where they bled out because they couldn't mend in time. I only learned recently that this was intended and not planned to change.

it was intended? What's the reasoning? I don't know! I don't know because there's so little communication going on! We don't understand anything, so people eventually start harassing the devs until they answer, or in some cases get frustrated and end up having something taken out of context causing horrible misaimed backlash.

Decisive Strike - a controversial perk that is being looked into. What are some ideas? Can any be shared with the community? Perhaps we could have an opinion?

Otherwise, we get things like Cruel Limits where the perk is "buffed" yet the main issue with the perk is unaddressed so it's still in the same state as before, making the change pointless.

Now look, I know you're trying. Really, I do. I get angry sometimes, say a few choice things in frustration—but I know you care about the game. We all do. It's why we're so passionate about it—players and developers alike. But after this? Improving communication needs to be a top priority.

Thank you for reading this and I hope you have a nice day. <3