War MMO on Steam causes stress and frustration – 1,800 players form a union, call a strike

The war MMO Foxhole allows thousands of players to play together on one map. But now the logisticians have gone on strike. The reason: the increasingly strenuous supply at the front.

What kind of game is this? Foxhole puts you as a soldier in a fictional, persistent game world. In this, a war is raging, which is based on the Second World War. You decide which side you want to be on and take part in big battles. So you are a soldier in a huge army.

• The game is played from the iso perspective. You control your hero from diagonally above. This gives you the overview you need to keep a close eye on your surroundings. As a soldier, you are relatively free in how you proceed in the game world.
• In Foxhole you join one of two factions and fight against the opposing army. It’s not just about shooting your way through, but also about tactics and resources.
• You can craft bases, ammunition and important materials yourself. Players can treat their team members as a medic, or transport their troops across the map as a driver.

Since the last major update, up to 3000 players can be on a map at the same time. The players take on different tasks for their troops. Supplying the front with ammunition and other war material is the task of the logisticians.

Recently, they have been increasingly dissatisfied with their task and accuse the developer of making the game more and more exhausting for them. Now they have formed to force change.

1,800 players form a union for the logisticians

What exactly is behind it? Of course, while the soldiers in Foxhole primarily fight the enemy, there are also numerous supporting units that take on logistical tasks. They manufacture weapons and ammunition and transport them to the front.

This takes time and effort, so these logisticians are less often involved in combat than in the middle of the action. Recent changes now ensure that the workload for this group of players increases again.

Apparently this is getting to be too much for some of them. Around 1,800 gamers have now formed a union called the “Logistics Organization for General Improvement (LOGI)” (via logiunion.com). In German, this means something like: “Logistics organization for general improvement”.

They are committed to making changes to the game that will improve the logistician’s gaming experience. An announcement states:

The cumulative effects of the changes made to other systems within The Burrow have increased the stress and responsibility that weighs on the logistics player base. We believe Foxhole should not have a gaming experience that causes players so much frustration.

via logiunion.com

In addition, 11 concrete suggestions have been made that should help to improve the game. These list design weaknesses of the individual mechanics that take too long or are too cumbersome to control.

The individual steps are taking more and more time, which should cause too much stress for the players given the constant need for resources.

That is why LOGI is now calling for a strike to enforce the demands. With the strike, they want to interrupt important supply chains in the game in order to worsen the gaming experience – and thus draw attention to the importance of logisticians. The declaration was signed by around 1,800 players.

The explosive growth of our organization has shown that these issues are recognized by a large portion of this community. Our frustration has begun to eclipse our patience.

While this list doesn’t include all of the issues we’ve addressed, we consider them to be the most pressing ones and believe that only by addressing the above issues in a timely manner can logistics player churn be mitigated.

via logiunion.com

The union emphasized that they have no interest in destroying the balance of the game: “Our goals are a healthy dialogue between the developers and our community, higher player loyalty and an improved gaming experience.”

While 1,800 players does not represent the majority of the total player count, according to kotaku.com, the servers are already impacted. You can already see games in which there are hardly any logisticians on the road. Thus, enemy armies have to fight each other with pistols, otherwise no weapons and other resources are available.

3000 players fighting only with pistols actually looks less spectacular than a fully equipped army.

How is Foxhole otherwise received by the players? The war MMO is consistently well rated on Steam. Of around 18,000 votes, 83% are positive (as of January 18, 1:15 p.m.).

The dense atmosphere of the game is particularly praised. The importance of teamwork is also emphasized and the intensity of mass battles is well received by many players.

It is praised that you can’t just shoot your way blindly through every fight, but use tactics and pay attention to resources.

But the criticism of the stressful work for logisticians remains, and there are also isolated reports of cheaters.