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+--- Forum: Discovery Mod General Discussion (https://discoverygc.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?fid=37)
+--- Thread: Focus of Mod Development (/showthread.php?tid=83317)
Focus of Mod Development - Ironwatsas - 07-06-2012
Continuing on from Friday's Obituary, has raised the issue of a single individual with multiple faction obligations and leadership, thus creating a clear air of bias.
Considering the long-term development plans Discovery is used to, this could lead to some huge changes that could effectively railroad many players and factions, and overall be a detriment to a dynamic RP environment which discovery has managed to become. In past times, when Discovery was run by Igiss, that was forgivible, being his mod.
In the current state, I see, with no clear leader or stated* long term plan, I would suggest that the Dev Team strongly consider a fundamentally different approach to Mod Releases.
Firstly, a focus on more frequent micro-updates instead of giant, sweeping, paradigm changes like the transition from 4.85 to 4.86. That is to say, a constant stream of mini-updates to account for things like moving bases, economic changes, adding in new ships one at a time instead of fifty bajillion at once, and mundane bug fixes. A subversion update system might facilitate this more easily.
Secondly, putting all of the storyline power in the hands of one man, a man who runs one house, several regionally concentric factions within said house, and whom I will continue to strongly suspect has bias and/or an agenda, creates a problem. Igiss was forgivable to do so as again, it was his mod, but he's gone now so it's time to think outside the box. A more open architecture and dynamic means of story development is needed.
Thirdly, faction and player activities should have more bearing on overall storyline. If a micro-update scheme is implemented, that would be a bit easier. The player-base system, and some of the new rule changes are steps in the right direction, but a broader ability for dynamic faction interaction with the world is needed. The current scheme tends to railroad some factions into unwanted situations, or in a few cases, invalidate their RP altogether.
A smaller-scale focus could mean that issues could be knocked out easier, and player/faction events could be written into (and if necessary, out of) the lore easier.
I would like Cannon and the other admins to strongly consider experimenting with very fundamental shifts in the way the Dev system works.
(*and if there is a long term plan, I think it best to notify the community about it, upfront and clearly, so events can be planned accordingly.)
Focus of Mod Development - Daedric - 07-06-2012
Blah blah blah, high horse rider, blah blah
Please, do surrender proof of this bias you speak of.
Focus of Mod Development - Miranda - 07-06-2012
I for one support this move to have a new non-admin member stepping up to work on the story. Have you ever tried PMing an admin to ask a question about something story related? It takes a long time to get a response, not because they're jerks but because they have lives and tons of other disco-related things to be doing. I've been able to get constructive feedback and discuss ideas with Friday very quickly so I'm happy with the way things are.
Focus of Mod Development - Dab - 07-06-2012
Storyline Lead.
What part of that sentence says "only guy who works on storyline."
-Proud contributor to dev team storyline discussion and creation.
Seriously people, get a grip. Bias bias bias. Every single team leader of every single team that has ever been in existance gets a bunch of people whining about bias. Give it a rest already. Especially considering 95% of the memberbase here doesn't want to do any work on the mod, nor takes any effort to teach themselves how to mod the game. I just love how "I lead a faction" has become an automatic accusation of irredeemable bias in this community, and the mark of a person who can never be a dev without giving their own faction benefits. Really people, grow up.
Focus of Mod Development - Ironwatsas - 07-06-2012
Be that as it may, biased or non-biased (And I stand by my former statements), it brings up much broader issues of the closed nature of the development.
The fact is, the server population at large has little idea of what is being planned in the long run, and it all manifests in one update. There is a curtain behind what the storyline developers are doing. If not Friday, then who is pulling the strings?
At any rate, going to a system of micro-updates would probably reduce workload on the individual devs as it means things like individual ships and weapons can be added in as they're done, and balanced/fixed as issues arise. For the reasons I have stated above, it will mean that factions and individuals can have more impact, or if that impact messes something up, it can be undone easily.
Focus of Mod Development - Politus - 07-06-2012
I think that Ironwatsas brings up valid points with regards to the timeline of the development cycle. While the posts thus far have focused on the Friday question -a discussion which will only result in trolling (see Daedric); blunt "be quiet, children" responses (Dab, unfortunately); and, "zomg bias conspiracy" (Ironwatsas, I'm lookin' at you)- the other points that Ironwatsas brings up are important enough to merit discussion. In other words, forget Friday. The merits of Friday and perceived bias can be hashed out somewhere else with as much vitriol as one would like. Right now, the question of "multi-year dev cycle with big changes" versus "small-scale, constant change" is one that is more relevant, no?
For reference, small-scale wars with limited theatres of engagement and fluid battle lines become more relevant under a constant, minor-adjustment dev cycle as Ironwatsas proposes because the dev team can make minor adjustments as per player actions on a reasonable basis. Player activity can be rewarded by persistent changes in the game world, as opposed to waiting for up to a year to see relatively modest changes take effect.
Focus of Mod Development - Echo 7-7 - 07-06-2012
' Wrote:Continuing on from Friday's Obituary, has raised the issue of a single individual with multiple faction obligations and leadership, thus creating a clear air of bias.
You believe Friday is biased. That is about as valid as me claiming that you are biased against Friday, or you claiming that I am biased for Friday. Every human is fundamentally "biased"; differences are what define individuals.
' Wrote:Considering the long-term development plans Discovery is used to, this could lead to some huge changes that could effectively railroad many players and factions, and overall be a detriment to a dynamic RP environment which discovery has managed to become. In past times, when Discovery was run by Igiss, that was forgivible, being his mod.
In the current state, I see, with no clear leader or stated* long term plan, I would suggest that the Dev Team strongly consider a fundamentally different approach to Mod Releases.
Firstly, a focus on more frequent micro-updates instead of giant, sweeping, paradigm changes like the transition from 4.85 to 4.86. That is to say, a constant stream of mini-updates to account for things like moving bases, economic changes, adding in new ships one at a time instead of fifty bajillion at once, and mundane bug fixes. A subversion update system might facilitate this more easily.
It has already been stated that smaller and more frequent updates are an objective of the current development cycle. Focussing on the transition from .85 to .86 is an extreme example, not representative of either past occurences (to my knowledge) nor future intentions. The long release of 4.86 has been explained before and I shouldn't need to repeat why.
' Wrote:Secondly, putting all of the storyline power in the hands of one man, a man who runs one house, several regionally concentric factions within said house, and whom I will continue to strongly suspect has bias and/or an agenda, creates a problem. Igiss was forgivable to do so as again, it was his mod, but he's gone now so it's time to think outside the box. A more open architecture and dynamic means of story development is needed.
Mjolnir is the Balance Lead, and he runs RM. He has been accused of providing an advantage to that faction before. Why not list all the other Devs who lead Official Factions too? Aeternus Doleo was in charge of the Mining system, and also led the IMG| player faction. Conspiracy much?
' Wrote:Thirdly, faction and player activities should have more bearing on overall storyline. If a micro-update scheme is implemented, that would be a bit easier. The player-base system, and some of the new rule changes are steps in the right direction, but a broader ability for dynamic faction interaction with the world is needed. The current scheme tends to railroad some factions into unwanted situations, or in a few cases, invalidate their RP altogether.
A smaller-scale focus could mean that issues could be knocked out easier, and player/faction events could be written into (and if necessary, out of) the lore easier.
I would like Cannon and the other admins to strongly consider experimenting with very fundamental shifts in the way the Dev system works.
(*and if there is a long term plan, I think it best to notify the community about it, upfront and clearly, so events can be planned accordingly.)
The Official Faction Leader Chat is one step on the way to having coordinated involvement between factions and Developers. Small steps.
Focus of Mod Development - Dab - 07-06-2012
Timeline discussions have been long and arduous, and most devs also agree that micro updates are going to be necessary going forth. We need to do it, we want to do it. Not so much being Game Masters, but finally being able to bring consequences into the game. Naturally that also means player actions can influence lore and gameplay. One example I used; If the OC decide to shoot Freeport 10, they lose out on all the resources they gain from that station (lore already states that OC decided not to blow it up due to the benefits they get from it). So, say that the official faction, 101st, decides to go on a holy war against Freeport 10 (or all Zoners). We could, theoretically, inflate prices on Malta to account for the economic turmoil. For example; Equipment, ammo, and Cardamine prices jump up, costing more for resupplies, and gutting Cardamine profits.
Obviously, not all situations would be met solely with consequences, as there are plenty of actions that lore insinuates SHOULD be happening.
Focus of Mod Development - shemkel - 07-06-2012
Instead of writing down all the theories no one else reads anyway, get to work, people.
Running a faction - if you want to do it properly - takes few hours evry day. Doing anything for the mod itself doesn't prove any kind of bias. It proves kind of heroism.
Again. Stop writing this bullcrap essays and start writing RP.
And no, I won't take a look back here to read your mega-righteous "how dare you".
I dare. Just like that. And if you were interested in development of Disco and it's factions more than you are in ways of pseudo-intellectual masturbation, maybe you'd know the reason why I don't give a single sexual activity about your opinion.
Focus of Mod Development - Prysin - 07-06-2012
Sir, big news.
The devteam is the epitome of bias.... Even their own people agree on that... How can it get any worse??? Unless, they want to suddenly invent yet another house with über powers beyond all others combined