Last week we reported on how players of the sandbox MMO Brighter Shores were getting very vocally angry at the game; fans argue that updates have taken too long, have been menial when they do arrive, and ignore player feedback – an assertion that lead developer Andrew Gower tried to push back against. Well, the game’s latest patch doesn’t appear to be doing much to silence that narrative, as it brought on a quest that players hold up as another example of a mismanaged early access game.
The Herbalist’s Hurdle side quest tasks players with helping Maeve in the Critical Care Ward near the infirmary. It’s the first new side quest added to the game since its early access launch, but no other details are provided presumably to limit any spoilers. The patch otherwise brought a couple of quality-of-life tweaks and bug fixes.
However, players have pointed out that completing this side quest takes only 15 minutes total. That length compared to the length of time to see new playable content added to the game has reignited gamers’ disappointment and frustration, with many claiming that Fen Research devs spent more time on vacation than on creating content for the MMO. “Five months for a tiny herbalism quest… I don’t know. I just really enjoyed the game for a while there and thought it could be something. Now I’m just annoyed,” one player groans.
Fen Research meanwhile continues to try to assure fans that development is still happening in its latest weekly newsletter, which calls attention to work on new starting introductions, coding and effects for several quests, and onboarding recently hired developers.
