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Pattern Clarc
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Posted - 2011.09.23 00:04:00 -
[1] - Quote
The moments that define history.
Hello New Eden.
Over the last several weeks we've been listening. We've been listening to the CSM, we've been listening to the greater player base, and we have also been listening to ourselves. For the last 24 months, we have over leveraged the resources of the resources we used to use to make the Eve you love great, to make an Eve we hoped others would love too.
And although we stand by our decision to do this, it has admittedly taken us longer to do, and has cost us more good will than had been planned.
We have learnt a lot from this process:
From now on we will have a reliable cycle of development featuring the Tick and the Tock
Excell/Photoshop Graphics Awesomeness number 1 (because PICS OR STFU/IT DIDN'T HAPPEN) (but no really, the best way to communicate is with a mixture of mediums)
That chart shows how we will develop from this point forward. We will have 2 major expansions every year, each with a different focus. The Winter expansion, AKA the "Tick", is when we will introduce new stuff into the game (like wormwholes and new game mechanics) that refresh and invigorate the experiences of players new and old. This doesn't mean that during these expansions we will completely halt development on iterating new features or WiS however:
Excell/Photoshop Graphics Awesomeness number 2
The above shows a rough split in terms of the impact the features we will deliver during Winter expansions. You may say "Way are you making new stuff when there's so many things to fix..." - Well the reality is that the expansions players all say were the best, were the ones where we introduced fundamental changes and additions to the way players play the game. Apocrypha with wormholes and Tech 3 was a prime example. However we also recognise upgrading and building upon many of things we've also introduced shouldn't be ignored...
And that will be precisely the focus of the "Tock", or the Summer Expansion. Here we will focus on upgrading and iterating on features we have already laid the foundations to and although balancing and bug fixes can and will happen throughout the year, the Summer expansions will receive an extra dose of them in the future.
Excell/Photoshop Graphics Awesomeness number 3
*Please note that relatively trivial, though important things can consume disproportionate amounts of developer resources and although be constantly looking at the potential impact to the game new features provide, we will not skirt from such things if they can provide meaningful improvements to players.
I'm really excited about our shift in focus, and I hope in the next few weeks, with all the cool stuff we're going to be talking about and showing you, you will be too...
More importantly, we want to show you that we have really learnt, and we have listened because Eve is coming back baby...
....Yeaaaah!
Arnar Hrafn Gylfason
Senior Producer of EVE Online
Essentially, what we wanted to read was some plan, a vision, something that merged the very best of what everyone wanted. Because beyond :18months:, we really don't know where eve is going, or how it will get there, and we're demoralised and nearing the point outrage exhaustion, which is one step away from not caring at all.
Ex CSM member and Designer of the Tornado. -á
Pilot satisfaction --áNew Ships |
Pattern Clarc
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Posted - 2011.09.23 00:26:00 -
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Zagdul wrote:Fire Zulu, hire this dude.
Being a game dev isn't about just writing epic blogs, but it's just maddening sometimes when they are unable to form the words, backed by the actions, that would make you and I collectively **** in our boxers. 
Ex CSM member and Designer of the Tornado. -á
Pilot satisfaction --áNew Ships |
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Posted - 2011.09.23 03:03:00 -
[3] - Quote
MeBiatch wrote:Pattern Clarc wrote: Epic! you have to admit though pattern clarc should be ccp editor in chief... his job would be taking devs ideas for blogs and writing them for them...
dyslexia and :words: are a bad mix as proven by the op tbh. 
Ex CSM member and Designer of the Tornado. -á
Pilot satisfaction --áNew Ships |
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Posted - 2011.09.23 12:06:00 -
[4] - Quote
Mara Rinn wrote:Though with their switch to gradual rollout rather than big-bang rollout, the Tick and Tock would actually be regions on the graph, not single events.
Thus the "Tick" would be a (short) series of small red arrows, the "Tock" would be a (longer) series of small blue arrows, and there would be no green arrows because all the releases include necessary bug fixes and balance changes.
Continuous patching has problems including forcing players to wait several minutes once every few days before logging in.
But to be honest, don't get caught up on the specifics. I wanted to show what a CCP would/should do if they had a plan. The lack of "where are we going, and how will we get there" is the issue atm and the OP was one example of how this could be presented.
Ex CSM member and Designer of the Tornado. -á
Pilot satisfaction --áNew Ships |
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Posted - 2011.09.23 18:34:00 -
[5] - Quote
Cearain wrote:OP there are too many words and not enough numbers. How many devs are going to be reassigned to core eve and how many are going to stay in incarna/dust/wod?
They can honestly say they are doing everything you propose and still not assign more than their skeleton crew of 7 or so devs working on core eve features. And the expansions will still suck.
I have had enough verbiage I want to see the numbers. Until then its just more of the same.
Add something like "Instead of having 70% of our devs working on incarna and 10% on FIS features we are going to have 10% working on incarna and 70% on fis features." and then I would be very happy.
Actually if they said that they wouldn't have to say anything else.
There is no real link between the amount of resources a specific feature requires and the impact that said feature would provide in terms of *changing the game*.
Instead, I deliberately focused on impact combining the realities of human nature and how the player base responds. Roughly speaking, 75% of the features in every major expansion will be FiS. Whether that's 10% of the resources available, or 90%, it shouldn't really matter, because at the end, we will judge them on what they deliver.
Ex CSM member and Designer of the Tornado. -á
Pilot satisfaction --áNew Ships |
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Posted - 2011.09.23 18:35:00 -
[6] - Quote
Seleene wrote:That's a pretty good dev blog. Nice graphs. 
Why don't you tweet about it or something...
Ex CSM member and Designer of the Tornado. -á
Pilot satisfaction --áNew Ships |
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Posted - 2011.09.25 23:06:00 -
[7] - Quote
I guess the question now is:
Is the CCP listening?
Do the CCP have a plan? A vision or a vague idea of how they are going to be carrying on in future?
And can you please run future Dev Blogs by the CSM for the time being? One of the most important ways they are valuble is that they help you communicate with us. And that could use some buffing atm.
Ex CSM member & Designer of the Tornado.
Gallente - Pilot satisfaction |
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