Development Cycle Archive

Thread: State of the Game Letter from JustG

Drunkenjedi420
Thu Mar 25, 2004 6:44 pm
#183

Wow just read it all. Thanks for all the Details and Good luck on the Upcomming projects. Very excited and happy to see the progress. Thanks much for the Letter Gary!


Lets hope this works out for the better guys!



-Sazo





Sazo - Radiant
MY DIARY OF NGE
TechBoss
Thu Mar 25, 2004 7:42 pm
#184






admiraljz wrote:





Henzo-Kauri wrote:

Combat balance being pushed back to who knows when?!?! That was the only thing keeping me here.


Well have fun playing this broken, half finished game. I'll be saving my 30$ a month for for something else.


-2 more accounts.








Yay! More kneejerk reactions and threats to quit!


Observation 1: If you were really so disgusted with the game your were quitting, you would not care about it's future development, ergo...


Observation 2: If you were really quitting you would not post it here.


I would guess the post is his way of giving the finger to SOE and the development team. I think I would post in a similar fashion if I canceled my account.


These kinds of posts help nothing, save to establish what a short-sighted, selfish player you are. You truly belong playing a single player game.


Lol, being feed up with the lack of quality control and constant course changing that SOE has been sending forth does not mean someone is selfish. We pay for a game and expect a certian amount of execution on quality issues and promised changes/content. Waiting eight months for the "vision" to be seen is not short-sighted either.


Continuous 100% dedication to fixing all known issues (bugs) reduces the amount of time spent on, and slows the development of, new and interesting things being added to the game. This makes for a stale, single-player game with thousands of single players playing at the same time. Continuous 100% dedication to developing and adding new content as quickly as possible with zero regard for functionality makes for a massive game with lots of potentially neat things that don't work at all.


This is true.


While the latter may have been true in the early stages of the game, you cannot say that this game functions worse than it did six months ago. You also cannot say that the game does not function better than it did six months ago. To deny that new things have been added in six months that didn't exist at launch is to fool no one but yourself.


Agree, several good things have been added to the game, but several items are still remaining from launch.


SIGNIFICANT strides have been made to increase functionality in broken content and core systems. Exciting new things such as mounts, vehicles, cities, lighting lamps, new rare loots, and new dungeon content have been added every month.


While your statement is true, what really aggrivates people is the fact that extremely annoying bugs have existed since launch and have yet to be fixed. The armor hole, AOE damage allotment and several other bugs have yet to be corrected, even though they are brought to the DEVs attention after every publish. Adding items to the game is find if they are meaningful, such as mounts, cities and some others. Lighting lamps? Come on how is this worthy of time that could have been spent on correcting one of the aforementioned bugs?


Is the game perfect? Does EVERYTHING work as intended (yet, or ever the first time)? No. It's the nature of the beast. I wish the developers had the ability or right to post every single line of code that encompasses this game in it's current state. I wish that the ME ME ME NOW NOW NOW OR I'LL QUIT posters were then tasked with fixing the broken items themselves and then adding new content, all whilst receiving threatening and demeaning emails from hundreds of people. C'mon, everyone here who criticizes the developers is an expert coder and game designer and knows they can do better!


See above.


As far as lack of communication on upcoming developments: it's very easy to say you're going to create something in x amount of time, and it's going to look/work this way, before you've actually committed to doing it. Actually DOING it is an entirely different proposition. What if the proposed item or feature simply didn't work in reality as it worked on paper? What if the new system, in the end, couldn't be supported by the engine? Then you'd have hundreds of angry mobs on the forums whining and crying and threatening and demeaning because YOU PROMISED ME. That alone is why new content is not discussed or promised until it is virtually finished and tested in-house. TH has said this twenty billion times and no one ever listens to him.


This is the biggest cop out that people allow the DEVs to get away with, "it will be done when it's done." As person who is a business where I must meet time constrants, I cannot fathom how the DEVs are allowed to get away with this. If I went to customer and said, "it will be done when its' done,"I would be packing my crap up and looking for a new job the next day. If you comit to a time frame, you must get off you dead butt and strive to make it. If you aren't you need to give a legitimate reason why you haven't met your goal, of which "we need more time" is not an acceptable response. There are 24 hours in a day and 7 days a week, I suggest the DEVs get a 2nd shift and start fixing some of these long standing issues.


Once again I'm going to say THANK YOU to the developers for your hard, dedicated work on this game. You have turned a massively bugged game with lots of potential into a fun and VASTLY improved gaming experience that gets better every month. If it's going to take longer than you realized to develop some of the core system changes (such as the combat revamp), then I would rather have a quality change delivered late than a half functional change delivered early. I will either a) continue to hunt and PvP under the current system until it is finished or b) focus on my crafter/entertainer characters and explore the many other aspects of the game. Truthfully speaking, I don't play as much as I used to, while awaiting a lot of the significant combat changes to come to pass. But I do enjoy the game significantly and don't forsee leaving for a LONG time. 9/10 times I log in to one of my characters I can at least find something amusing to do to pass the time, or friends to hang out and BS with.


See above and add the following. While I do not doubt the DEVs devotion to the game, I find their priorities to a bit out of whack. I can understand bugs being generated with a new publish, but I can't understand those bugs being around longer than 2 months after they are discovered. That shows a lack of dedication in my opinion or atleast a smoke and mirrors approach to REAL problems. I find the game utterly boring after I finish grinding out a profession. The rewards fordoingmany of the questsare not worth the effort.


In short, if you're quitting, quit. Don't tell me about, don't tell the Devs about it. No one cares. And no one is missing out because of your departure but YOU.


While one player quiting is not a big deal, each publish pushes more and more people away from the game. If I hadn't payed up till June, I would most likely quit too. I find paying 15 dollars a month for a fancy chat program to be a little steep.











-----------------------------------------------------------------
"List?..... Where is this "list" you speak of. Writing something on toilet paper and then wiping your ass with that same paper doesn't constitute as a list." from BH forums in regards to combat balance list of issues.
MasterRulon
Thu Mar 25, 2004 8:56 pm
#185

OMG I LOVE how most posts with anything negative are mysteriously being deleted (censored). Factual, non-flame or not... Keep it up devs. The fanboyz won't be enough to save this game, if you all don't get serious about actually FIXING this game!



RulonsMule/Rulon
?????

If you are looking for a good Rebel guild please consider BKB.
We are always looking for quality players.
Check us out at www.bkbhq.com/swg/portal.html

Drunkenjedi420
Thu Mar 25, 2004 10:11 pm
#186

Why dont you get yourself an Engineering or Computer Information systems Degree and Apply for a job at Sony at fix them yourself. Other wise slap that Disk set on Ebay and Face up to the facts - YOU cant ever dream of doing half the things this talented and Motivated crew does to make this game what it is.


-Sazo





Sazo - Radiant
MY DIARY OF NGE
mesome
Fri Mar 26, 2004 12:37 am
#187

Read the letter and I have to say that for the first time I'm actually looking forward to some of these publishes. publish 7 was a big letdown, I look forward to not getting my hopes dashed upon the rocks again. I might even try and get a jedi charachter as soon as holocrons are done away with.



Bloodfin
Prolux Wolff (Master Doc / TKM) That's my template and I'm sticking to it.

HoKieVT - "I am having a Jaedewitch is stupid day."
WyleCoyote
Sun Mar 28, 2004 6:12 am
#188

Cmon guys get on with the combat balance. You are focusing on content when game balance is costing you player base. Combat Balance is a major piece of game foundation. sheeeesh!!
SmockMobie
Tue Mar 30, 2004 7:19 pm
#189

All of these publishes are a letdown...Droid invasion? Please. Where are all the droids? Imperial crackdown? I've been scanned once. I've seen only a handful of storm troopers. They should be at every shuttleport the Empire controls scanning each and every person.In every cantina, etc.


Also, I am really tired of people saying 'great work guys! we didn't get anything accomplished in this publish, and we have gained no ground, but great work!! Pay no attention to the people who raise valid complaints. We'll call them whiners and belittle their concerns. Once again, great job!! I'm really looking forward to enjoying this substandard 'new' content that is actually fixes for stuff we've been paying for for months. Great work!!! Once again, just a great job!' Typically, those posts are followed by a laundry list of things that have not been addressed but they would like to see addressed (these are usually the things the poster was 'praising' the devs for in the first paragraph.)


Here are the facts. SWG and SonyOnline talk a great game. Until I see them living up to what they promise, it is nothing more than hot air. All we hear is what cannot be done or what will not be done. This is an EXTREMELY restrictive group of developers who are casting their own vision of this universe on it's customers. They seldomly listen to feedback (all you need to do is visit the DE forum) and have a very odd list of priorities. Jedi fixes when jedi represent the smalles community within the game. Perhaps there are fewer Squad Leaders than jedi. Merchants. I don't know....anyway, this game is getting really boring and I am just about prepared to move on. I've seen this post by others a hundred times and now I finally know what it took to write it up. Complete and total frustration with this game and these people. This game could be so great. But for whatever reason, it is just boring.


This is nothing more thancomplaining so please do not read anything further into it. I do not want to get a programming degree and go to work for Sony. That is what I pay them for. Please don't lose sight of that when typing up flaming rebuttles to my complaining.




Smock Mobie

Naboo's Original Stand Up Philosipher
Huin
Wed Mar 31, 2004 1:25 am
#190

I honestly think they should allow everyone to copy their character to test center. I honestly think the reason the Patches fail is lack of testing. If everyone could copy their characters there . Test ceneter would do much better. Patches would be ironed out before relase. SWG team can NOT do the testing we can . TEST and TEST again before you PATCH. Allow everyone to get on test with any character they choose. I would love to help test Jedi bugs. Yet I can't because I am not wasting endless hours on test center to pop my FS slot to help SWG get it straight .That is obsurd. Test center is FOR TEST not for hologrinding or any type of grinding for that matter. Test out combat! Also allow people to have access to resources so test center can be for TESTING instead of harvesting and wasting valuable test time.



"Men have less hesitation about offending one who makes himself loved than one who makes himself feared, for love is held together by a chain of obligation which, because man is sadly wicked, is broken at every opportunity to serve their self-interest, but fear is maintained by a dread of punishment which never abandons you."
Dark Side Force Master
Dau Ji-Quan
Huin
Wed Mar 31, 2004 1:27 am
#191

Also seems silly to have to make use grind to advanceourcharacters there. Is it not a test center??Give us unlimited XP so we can test everything .



"Men have less hesitation about offending one who makes himself loved than one who makes himself feared, for love is held together by a chain of obligation which, because man is sadly wicked, is broken at every opportunity to serve their self-interest, but fear is maintained by a dread of punishment which never abandons you."
Dark Side Force Master
Dau Ji-Quan
GrubTKA
Wed Mar 31, 2004 3:27 pm
#192

Ok with all honesty here...combat rebalance not coming? The supposed d "fix" patch which came about because of a bug with riflemen and dodge stackers appears with all honesty to have broken all defenses except for theprofession d's (of those 2 only dodge and counterattack are worthwhile anyways). With dodge food you can still get at least as high a dodge mod as you had before so that goes straight out the window. I was hoping the combat rebalance might address some of these issues but since it is apparently not coming it leaves me with little hope and little to look forward to. Maybe if the devs would fess up and admit that they did something very wrong with defenses and that a fix was on the way I would be a little more hopeful. But as of right now there is a TEN PAGE LONG post on the In-Live forum asking what the deal is and so far no dev response. I believe that this thread is actually the only feedback thread from publish eight that as of yet has had no dev response.



MY SIG-I fight for the unconventional. My right and it's unconditional. I can only be as real as I can. The disadvantage is I never knew the plan. This isn't just away to be a martyr. I can't walk alone any longer. I fight for the ones that can't fight. And if I lose, at least I tried.

I won't be the inconsequential. I won't be the wasted potential. I can make it as severe as I can. Until you realize, you'll never take a stand. It isn't just a one sided version. We've dealt with a manic subversion. I won't let the truth be perverted. And I won't leave another victim deserted.
Xconxors
Wed Mar 31, 2004 6:23 pm
#193






Drunkenjedi420 wrote:

Why dont you get yourself an Engineering or Computer Information systems Degree and Apply for a job at Sony at fix them yourself. Other wise slap that Disk set on Ebay and Face up to the facts - YOU cant ever dream of doing half the things this talented and Motivated crew does to make this game what it is.


-Sazo












Drunkenjedi420 wrote:

Why dont you get yourself an Engineering or Computer Information systems Degree and Apply for a job at Sony at fix them yourself. Other wise slap that Disk set on Ebay and Face up to the facts - YOU cant ever dream of doing half the things this talented and Motivated crew does to make this game what it is.


-Sazo









If this were a one-time purchase, I could toss it under my drink and write it off to experience. But if they want to continue to charge us $15 a month, then we have the right to beef about the numerous issues with the game. It would even be different if I didn't keep hearing about vaporous fixes for my pistol skills over and over again...





Dadas
MasterDoc / Pistoleer / Architect
"Please Don't Shoot The Doctor"

Leaving the game soon, Resources and More. Just South of Coronet at -150 -5530
Fred_Skinner
Wed Apr 07, 2004 1:38 pm
#194






Elvandar01 wrote:

...snip...

A large majority of your playerbase plays this game for the combat and for the GCW (pvp) and when you tell them that nothing will be done for at least 3-4 months, the customers lose interest and in turn, you lose subscriptions.

...snip...




Don't you just love it when people assume what they do is what everyone is doing? I beg to differ, I'd like to get a TRUE poll of the playerbase and find out just how many are doing PvP. I bet it's actually a slight MINORITY.




Frederick Skinner
Antarian Ranger, Ranger(0030), Master Rifleman, CH(4214)
Ranger is not a profession. It's a lifestyle.


kSpro
Tue Apr 13, 2004 2:27 am
#195

CANCEL



- kSpro' (starsider) DNB
- kSpro (kettemoor) DNB
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