Artisan Archive
Thread: Weapon Powerups From Factories: Still Broken.
Defconn wrote:
Simple solution...beta test longer...
And we are CUSTOMERS...the product is a game...so that makes us player CUSTOMERS. Customer complaints are not "whines". They are valid demands of customers to get what they
While it is very true a complaint is not a whine, at some point after the same issue has been raised by the same person some number of times, I think it does become a whine. Say it, see that it's been acknowledge (and you may need to say it more than once) and then move on. And multiple people complaining will illuminate the scope of the problem, which can also be very useful. Using profanity and poor spelling only hinders the communications process and I see entirely too much of that on these boards.
And again, it's easy to say "beta test longer" but I've seen programmers who won't ever let go of the code. At some point someone (usually a suit who has no clue but occasionally a team lead who knows what their doing) has to say "it's finished" (and perhaps it's not but still) and let it go out the door. Game design is a whole other type of programming and software development is a separate beast as well.
Defconn wrote:
Simple solution...beta test longer...
<snip>
So, next time you buy a TV and it breaks within 14 days of purchase, why don't you just keep it and do a workaround, like go to your neighbour's to watch your favourite shows instead of "whining" to your local electrical outlet?
When MMORPGs have been around as long as TVs then we can make that analogy (and it's somewhat erronerous anyway since one is hardware and the other software and comparing software to anything else is misleading). Otherwise it's like looking at the orange in your hand and saying "I'm not happy with this apple!"
KwoungSy wrote:
Centurion wrote:
When MMORPGs have been around as long as TVs then we can make that analogy (and it's somewhat erronerous anyway since one is hardware and the other software and comparing software to anything else is misleading). Otherwise it's like looking at the orange in your hand and saying "I'm not happy with this apple!"
Sorry, I am not buying that whole its a young industry thing anymore... it isn't. That excuse may still work for with some people for some new compamy trying to break into the industry, although even then.. IMHO, they have no business entering an industry without hiring competent and experienced help. MMORPGS have been around since some folks on this board were in diapers, SOE is now THE major player in the industry and undoubtedly has more experience in running a MMORPG than any other company in the world.
SOE isn't the people making the game. It's only a the parent corporation. Verant, who made Everquest, is the designer with Sony the publisher. Sort of like the book industry in one respect.
And our difference as far as a "young industry" is concerned hinges on the definition of "young". If people are going to compare software or games to hardware which has been around forty or fifty years they need to be prepared with rational arguments and appropriate analogies. While Verant isn't new to the business, the industry is new compared to other computer or software industries. And look how long it took to get EQ to the point where people like it (and I suspect that the EQ boards are also filled to the browser with whiners).
KwoungSy wrote:
SWG is a HUGE step backwards for them, its like it is being run by a bunch of complete noobs and not the same company that also owns and runs EQ. They haven't even managed to get this game to a point where they can keep it running for more than 24 hours at a lick yet, nevermind them breaking half the working stuff every other morning and continually introducing new exploits that has allowed players to bring literally billions upon billions of extra credits into the game and all the related problems that comes with that.
See above about how long it took to fix EQ to what many consider a working condition. Several years? I played it for nearly 2 years after having gotten into it about eight months after it came out. All the way up through the 2nd expansion. It had it's good points and it's bad points and when I got tired of it I moved on to Asheron's Call then Dark Age of Camelot. Now this.
KwoungSy wrote:
As a paying customer that is just trying to play the game and have fun...I am becoming frustrated very quickly. I played a architect that ran a huge and popular furniture shop.. which because SOE misdesgined their database and are clueless on how to get Oracle to perform as it should, they decided to destroy my business in game by limiting how many items a person can have in their house. So I start over and am now in business selling powerups.. which of course only seems to work 1-2 days a week and I end up wasting thousands of my rare resources constantly making worthless junk. Not to mention that they usually decide to break this stuff just before a weekend when I am trying to stock up and not fix it till the following week, so I am basically screwed out of all the weekend sales I was counting on to help pay for my harvesters, houses, factories and am constantlky left on the brink of virtual bankruptcy in game... WHICH IS NOT FUN.
Allof these are valid points and should be brought to their attention. Message aftermessage with hateful overtones isn't useful andis wearying to read (thus I am reading fewer and fewer and have decided replying is pointless, no one wants to listen to a reasonable point of view when they're angry. those who do generally agree with me and those who don't won't listen in any event).
The short answer is that if you're not having fun, leave. Don't let the hatch hit your anatomy on the way out.
Although replying to your own message is something of a dweeb thing to do I decided that this conclusion was a bit to negative and hateful given the message I was trying to convey and I wish to extend my apologies to KwoungSy in particular and the board in general.
Centurion wrote:
<snip>
The short answer is that if you're not having fun, leave. Don't let the hatch hit your anatomy on the way out.
Centurion wrote:
If you're not sure if it worked for your stuff, DON'T MAKE A MILLION OF THEM! Make a few and see if it works and you won't feel so mad when you get 75 crates of junk.
And yes, I had a partial run and had to destroy four or five crates of junk. But I got them to work yesterday so I'm happy. I even got another +damage powerup in my experimenting.
Umm.. the patch message said it was fixed and NOT ONCE mentioned anything about it being broken. I log in before work to start the factory so it can actually be doing what it is supposed to be doing and I can actually have something to sell each day.
It is not my job to make a friggin test run every time I want to produce something. My factory is running jobs pretty much 24x7 to meet the demand of my customers and stock my vendor. I do not have the time or resources to make "test runs" everytime I want to make something... IT SHOULD JUST WORK LIKE THE PATCH MESSAGE CLAIMED IT DID. (I wasn't yelling at you btw.. that last bit was directed at SOE)
Centurion wrote:
See above about how long it took to fix EQ to what many consider a working condition. Several years? I played it for nearly 2 years after having gotten into it about eight months after it came out. All the way up through the 2nd expansion. It had it's good points and it's bad points and when I got tired of it I moved on to Asheron's Call then Dark Age of Camelot. Now this.
Yes, it did take them several years to get EQ running properly and that is exactly my poiint. They obviously learned something since even EQ test server is 1000% more stable and playable than any SWG server. I am not paying them to learn twice... they have experience in running online games and have proven they can be very good at it. SOE is not some wannabe likeMythic, Funcom or any of the others that have popped up in the last couple years.. they are the premier provider of online games.
As for Verant making this game.. Verant no longer exists and hasn't for quite a while. SOE is the producer, developer and distributer of SWG.
Hiya, factory powerups work right now on Tempest.
The crates are not showing the stats, but uncrated powerups are.
Bianca Minola
Another factor which I had been unaware of I found out from a friend of mine who was in the beta. He told me that the reason (at least one of them) it was released when it was, was that the fans (the beta testors) were clamoring for it. The Devs didn't want to release it until it was actually finished but someone let it out in response to OUR demand.
And so if we're unhappy with it's current state then it's partially our fault and complaining about it seems a typical double standard.
The CSR said that making 1000 count schematics was a "bug" or exploit and that I was making items at my own risk. 200k down the drain.
Centurion: That is not the way I remember the discussion on the boards. The majority were horrified when it was announced that they were going to take the game live. Only the starting professions had been well tested, many things had only existed for only a few days, there were lots of open bugs. The feeling was that it was driven by the financial folks that didn't want us to continue playing on our original $12 per 2 accounts.
Vaedross: I am reallysuprised that a "CSR said that making 1000 count schematics was a "bug" or exploit." I had wondered a little bit about that myself until I discovered that there was a functioning edit on the field that gives an error message saying that the number must be 1000 or less. If there were no edit, it might have been a bug. I decided that was the clearly designed in limitation. The slider is just a convenient shortcut that can't be used all the time. Ever try to do a split on a container with more than 10k contents to get an exactnumber? Can't be done with the sliderunless you are very lucky, the pixels are far too big. You have to type the number in, just like numbers over 100 on a schematic.
I wonder if the refund comes out of theCSR's pocket. I felt like the one that gave me a refund was searching hard for a reason not to. Seemed like a strange way to treat an angry customer. As it was, after he left, I realized that he had shortchanged me from what he agreed to. Still, it was far better than getting nothing.
My factories seemed to work just fine now.