It makes for kind of a weird situation. On the one hand, you wouldn't want them to outright lie and promise something they haven't committed to just to pacify the community. On the other hand, just saying they aren't sure or other comments that players take negatively might itself hasten PL's demise by prompting players to leave the game. In the latter case, a rumor of "PL's end" that gains enough momentum would become a self-fulfilling prophecy.
The problem really is that both sides, dev and player alike, are in "wait and see" mode. Players are hesitant to commit time and money because they don't know PL's future. On the dev side, they are equally hesitant to put out more effort because of the opportunity cost of putting time into this game vs. the others they could be working on.
The only way out of such a situation is leadership. One side or the other has to take a leap of faith and invest in PL, raising the other side's confidence to join in. I don't really see how this could come from the player side, although I guess a massive infusion of plat purchases could do the trick. But players aren't anywhere near as well-organized as the development side, so in practical terms the only way this stalemate will break is if the devs do it. If they came out and announced new content, it would turn the community around. I mean, it's easy to see what even the relatively modest investment of a few new vanities and PvP tweaks did, so the community is clearly hungry for signs that PL will survive. If they committed to a new cap, even a not-very-imaginative one just to get it done quickly, it would clearly have a dramatic effect on the community. But that's the only practical scenario that would break the "wait and see" deadlock at this point.
Originally Posted by Oldcoot
Bookmarks