> This is pretty ridiculous to say that we don't do anything to help third > party developers for our games. > > Erik
In fact, it's *completely* ridiculous to say that. I've lost count of the number of times Eric or Erik or a whole list of others at Valve have responded in great technical detail and a helpful way to us as we have worked on developing, updating and furthering Admin Mod. Our team has been one benefactor of Valve's free gift of support and guidance. Valve is a company, not someone's mother. There is no entitlement granted by Valve Software to players, developers or Admins that would enable or allow any of us to demand or expect any sort of guaranteed assistance, update, enhancement, etc. If we do this, it's all in our own heads. We may think we are entitled, but in reality we are not. Companies make decisions. In the history of the Half-Life game, Valve has done pretty darn well by it's users and developers, and has provided support and information at no cost. That should (and in my book does) mean something. You add to that the fact that the people who work there are first-rate and high-class people... Well, when you look at it that way, the rants and bitching are hard to swallow. These people deserves our thanks. Again, companies make decisions. Just like the people that buy and use their products. As well they should. There are so many factors that go into a software company's decision making process. And when you add the complexity of a company that produces gaming software, where the development is largely speculative in nature and as a result the risks are high, well the decision process becomes much more important. I don't pretend to know anything about the decisions being made inside the offices at Valve. But I do know, from plently of experience in the area where I work, that those decisions are likely to be ones that are weighed carefully before they are executed, given the environment the compay operates in. Most of all, I respect a company's right to make it's own decisions without having to air them and defend them publicly. It's a competetive market, and maintaining a cometetive business model is paramount if you want to keep moving forward, plain and simple. Anyhow, while there have certainly been things I may have done differently over the past couple of years in the Half-Life arena, given my lack of personal insight into Valve's inner workings, I don't pretend to know better, I respect their product and what they have done, and I respect their right to make their own decisions. For what it's worth. :) Greg
