Development Cycle Archive

The proposed changes are quite sound.

The idea of removing the SWG discussion forum doesn't quite make sense to me. Just move it into galaxies. There should be a forum for silly stuff which doesn't pretain to any specific galaxy and yet has nothing to do with development. ...

I agree with several other players that there is no place to put ideas on how to make the game better! Where is the community input section of the game that Devs can use contacts to culminate what the community thinks is best for the game?

I think we should have a forum set up like we have it now, but with the addition of categories like what you find in the Bug report tool.

make a:

Art
Crash
Gameplay
......

and sub categories like:

landscape, buildings, characters....

vendors, vehicles, creatures... and so on

this way the forum titles will wittle down the subjects into individual categories that we can offer suggestions to change, without fishing through HUNDREDS of random ideas ppl have put in. This would help the Devs look for suggestions to specific areas without having to fish around the forums themselves! Which is a incredible waste of time when you can't find what you want to know!

just my 2 credits.

XCman

Creature handler pets are not able to be trapped, at all. - makes no sense to me, and seems obvious traps should be able to stick, therefor making the scout trapper a proficient route to take for pvp and pve.

Line of sight. i can see the huge rancor on my screen, with a few trees obstructing the rancor, but yet 'i cannot see target".. This needs to be addressed, or hell, if you're gun is powerful enough, they can shoot holes thru trees. or weak they'll deflect, maybe hitting an innocent nuna smack dab in the head.

Dueling? yeah its cool if you are both melee classes, and duel at a handshake distance away. but not for ranged types like riflemen. WHY DO WE NOT HAVE A SMALL DUEL ARENA? i could build and build upon this idea, you want 'em? yeah you do. Gladiator Arena. -pvp, high stakes, prizes, mobs that can you practice on, spectators. Do you know how fun this would be? Fight others for the chance to wed a wealthymale/female ingame, win a house, win a speeder.win some **edit** loot.and the gladitor arena could be surrounded with STATUES of the legendary gladitors that have surpassed all odds, much like a museum of famous warriors that have entered the SWG universe.

Actually the delay came because I've been pressed to understand exactly what the possibilities are. I hedged against making a big post before speaking with the DE community and the discussion thread folks. The problem occured yesterday when my cable cut out and I couldnt stay in the discussion. Since then, a few people have let their imaginations get the better of them. *shrugs* It happens on forums pretty regularly.

The important thing to remember is to give as much information on an idea as possible - - think about the design challenges and offer solutions. Even if you dont agree with something, its ok to voice your opinion, but try to be positive and to address the features.

Design arguments are won by sound information and having a solid idea.

---

Zito75 wrote:
Yeah...this is a start, but I would rather see bugs and the Top 5 list in each profession carried out before anything is done...

---

I know and I agree. Because of this process the information I am bringing to the team has brought about a major change. Each publish will have:

• A central theme so that each update is exciting


• new content


• Correspondent issues


• CSR issues

There are changes being made, its just that its a big boat and it takes time to turn it to a different direction.

---

Each publish will have:

• A central theme so that each update is exciting


• new content


• Correspondent issues


• CSR issues

---

Perhaps it's a simple matter of semantics, but where do bug fixes to old problems fit in this listing?

I posted this once before in one of the weekly threads, and as a result it's probably been lost in the mix so I'll say it again:

I really wish more focus were visibly shown towards fixing the old bugs that have existed since Beta 3, let alone since launch, instead of pressing forward with new content. It has been said by devs and other team members that fixing bugs is sometimes a complex problem, because so each bug fix has the potential to "ripple" through multiple parts of the game's mechanics.

Is it not worth everyone's time to halt or at least significantly slow further development of all-new game systems in favor of ironing out the wrinkles? Would it not be fair to say that if new layers of content are placed over these wrinkles, that they'd be more difficult to fix and have the potential to break more things? I don't think it's difficult to envision a point in time that some bugs might never be fixed because they're so deeply buried and enmeshed in the code that fixing them is more trouble than it's worth. I really don't want to see this happen.

---

XCman wrote:

I agree with several other players that there is no place to put ideas on how to make the game better! Where is the community input section of the game that Devs can use contacts to culminate what the community thinks is best for the game?

I think we should have a forum set up like we have it now, but with the addition of categories like what you find in the Bug report tool.

make a:

Art
Crash
Gameplay
......

and sub categories like:

landscape, buildings, characters....

vendors, vehicles, creatures... and so on

this way the forum titles will wittle down the subjects into individual categories that we can offer suggestions to change, without fishing through HUNDREDS of random ideas ppl have put in. This would help the Devs look for suggestions to specific areas without having to fish around the forums themselves! Which is a incredible waste of time when you can't find what you want to know!

just my 2 credits.

XCman

---

I think this is an excellent idea for general development ideas - running categories in the In Concept forum.

Corrs and devs can gather suggestions from these general threads and restart them, with an announcement before hand, every month or two so they don't get too huge. Huge, never-ending threads would probably cause other problems.

---

RichLather wrote:

---

Each publish will have:

• A central theme so that each update is exciting


• new content


• Correspondent issues


• CSR issues

---

Perhaps it's a simple matter of semantics, but where do bug fixes to old problems fit in this listing?

I posted this once before in one of the weekly threads, and as a result it's probably been lost in the mix so I'll say it again:

I really wish more focus were visibly shown towards fixing the old bugs that have existed since Beta 3, let alone since launch, instead of pressing forward with new content. It has been said by devs and other team members that fixing bugs is sometimes a complex problem, because so each bug fix has the potential to "ripple" through multiple parts of the game's mechanics.

Is it not worth everyone's time to halt or at least significantly slow further development of all-new game systems in favor of ironing out the wrinkles? Would it not be fair to say that if new layers of content are placed over these wrinkles, that they'd be more difficult to fix and have the potential to break more things? I don't think it's difficult to envision a point in time that some bugs might never be fixed because they're so deeply buried and enmeshed in the code that fixing them is more trouble than it's worth. I really don't want to see this happen.

---

Except for the 'new content' category, I think bug fixes, whether new or old, would fit into ALL those areas.

I don't know about themed updates.....

I guess it helps to focus attention on a certain area of the game when changes go live.

I just hope they don't hold up changes or fixes just because they don't fit into any theme that's scheduled to go out.

Just fix em and get em out!!!

---

I agree with several other players that there is no place to put ideas on how to make the game better! Where is the community input section of the game that Devs can use contacts to culminate what the community thinks is best for the game?

---

---

Thunderheart wrote:

---

I agree with several other players that there is no place to put ideas on how to make the game better! Where is the community input section of the game that Devs can use contacts to culminate what the community thinks is best for the game?

---

The big challenge here is meeting expectations and reality. SWG is so big that there are thousands of different discussions we could have, but only some of them would actually be appropriate for what is actually in development.

One thing I remember from my own experience is we would post, post, post and keep on posting, but if the timing of our posts was different than what the devs were working on, it dramatically lowered our visibility. Which meant our really great ideas were lost in a sea of threads.

Conversely, during beta testing, Holocron use threads as useful tools to gain community insight and ended them with a "takeaway" (which I plan on doing).

My goal is to true-up whats being worked on by the devs and your input. Thats not to say we shouldnt discuss all topics, but we can do them in all of the appropriate forums. That way, when a key topic comes up, the correspondents can gather that information and get it to me for review.

---

The problem is that there are issues that may not appear to affect what is being developed that are being discussed in other places.

A truely great example of this is the fact that certs and such have been a topic of discussion in the DE forums for over three months.

Now, from what I have read, I have inferred that the combat ballancing has been in the works for several months. Right now, it is being said that droid certs would mess up the combat ballancing.

I know that not every thread and topic can be followed - but some issues, like this, should have dev attention even if it is not currently the primary dev focus.

---

Thunderheart wrote:

---

I agree with several other players that there is no place to put ideas on how to make the game better! Where is the community input section of the game that Devs can use contacts to culminate what the community thinks is best for the game?

---

The big challenge here is meeting expectations and reality. SWG is so big that there are thousands of different discussions we could have, but only some of them would actually be appropriate for what is actually in development.

One thing I remember from my own experience is we would post, post, post and keep on posting, but if the timing of our posts was different than what the devs were working on, it dramatically lowered our visibility. Which meant our really great ideas were lost in a sea of threads.

Conversely, during beta testing, Holocron use threads as useful tools to gain community insight and ended them with a "takeaway" (which I plan on doing).

My goal is to true-up whats being worked on by the devs and your input. Thats not to say we shouldnt discuss all topics, but we can do them in all of the appropriate forums. That way, when a key topic comes up, the correspondents can gather that information and get it to me for review.

---

You're forgetting one bit- what if the correspondant doesn't like your idea, and refuses to "gather that information" for your review.

It *IS* possible for correspondants to push their own perspective or "pet" issues.